


,. (1,1 :i 1,1 i , 

', I, '. ' ; ' 'i ' 

,'.';:■'■ *' vi'' M. . '. 
1 I. (I ;,■ ' '1: 1 ■ ' ■!■•• . 



" • I'l 1 1.1. '■' 
'■• ii'i'ii'fV ■ •■:' '■■ 



:,,;•;„' 




Glass _J^4i2i 
Bnok. 7^ Co5 

Copyright]^® 

CQPWyGHT DEPOSIT. 







(iOV. HARRISOX AND TEf TMSKH IX COrxcii. AT v[XTEXXES. IX J8I!). 



THE 



DISCOVERY AND CONQUESTS 



-OP- 



THE NORTHWEST 



INCLUDING THE 



EARLY HISTORY OF CHICAGO, DETROIT, VIN- 

CENNES, ST. LOUIS, FT. WAYNE, PRAIRIE 

DuCHIEN, MARIETTA, CINCINNATI 

CLEVELAND, ETC., ETC. 



AND INCIDENTS OF PIONEER LIFE IN THE REGION OF THE 
GREAT LAKES AND THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 



By EUFUS BLANCHAED 

_,^fKHY Of 



>>' cof 



"^^ 



CHICAGO: 
GUSHING, THOMAS & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 

1880. 



'^US 



V ^ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year iS8i, 

By RuFus Blanchard, 
in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Spain took the lead in settling the New World. The 
West India Islands, Peru, Mexico and Florida were Spanish 
provinces before any other nation had obtained even a foothold 
in the great Western inheritance of Nature. .But these first 
Spanish adventurers were too richly rewarded with gold not to 
intoxicate the brains of the nation. Despising the slow process 
of agriculture as a means of wealth, they wasted their strength 
in searching for gold wherever they went, and left the fairest 
portions of America to be colonized by France and England. 
France pushed her settlements up the St. Lawrence river, and 
ultimately into the country of the great chain of lakes and the 
entire valley of the Mississippi, with a view of holding the great 
channels of American commerce, while the English, at random, 
set their foot upon the Atlantic coast, without any plans for tlie 
future. It is seldom that great national expectations are fulfilled, 
and the ultimate destiny of America is no exception to this 
almost universal rule. Year after year the English colonists 
toiled in contentment along the eastern fringe of the continent, 
hardly beyond the hearing of the waters that beat against their 
narrow foothold in the New Woi-ld. What was beyond these 
confines they knew not, nor liad they time to incjuire, for other 
work was before them. Across the ocean they had unconsciously 
borne the elements of a great nation. These had to be planted 
on a new soil and cultivated into a vigorous growth. While this 
planting season was in progress, the French, with far-reaching 
uiiil)ition, wore strengthening their positions in the interior by 
building forts and establishing friendly relations with the Indians. 

No rivalship between th^ two nations was manifested at 



4: IntroduGtion. 

first, but ultimately the religion and State policy of France was 
destined to come into competition with these same elements in., 
the workings of the English mind. The latter prevailed after 
a long and apparently even-matched warfare, and the hopes of 
France were dashed to the ground. The English flag now 
waved over lake, river, and coast, wherever beginnings had been 
made, but their triumph had but a transient tenure. A new 
idea seizes upon the minds of men, and a new flag springs into 
existence. The English in turn are driven from our soil, and 
only the Indians, its natural inheritors, left to contend against the 
Americans. A. prolonged struggle ensued on their part for 
existence, and on ours for advancement. Many complex con- 
ditions were brought into the issue. The early French relations 
to the Indians ; their inter-marriages and consequent sympathy 
for them ; the fur trade and its medley of associations, evil and 
good ; the partially successful missionary eftorts both of the 
French Roman Catholic Fatliers and of the United Brethren, or 
Moravians. All these brought a charm of romance into the 
ever open chasm between the pioneer soldiers and the tenacious 
Indians. Slowly and sadly the latter retreated forever from the 
blood-stained soil, and few of their offspring are left among the 
living of to-day. Neither their courage, nor their murderous 
revenge could save them, and what has been a loss to them (but 
a few in number), has been a gain to the millions who now owa 
the soil. 

Never before in the history of the world has the ambition 
of man been stimulated to such an extent as here. The 
jurists, the schoolmasters, and the ministers of New England and 
Virginia followed the host of pioneers to the new field where all 
the appliances of civilization were to be built and the timber 
taken from the stump. During this process the stream of wealth 
has more than kept pace with expectation, till we now find our 
selves equal in rank and influence with the older States of the 
Union. For this position we are partly indebted to recruits from 
all the enlightened nations of Europe. It is not too much to 
say that we are made up of the activity and enterprise of the 
world as it brimmed over its confines at home and found a 
broader field here for its action. 

"The West," "Western," "Western characteristics," 



Introduction. 6 

a,re significant expressions. They mean dash, spirit, elasticity, 
resolution, and hope. Nor is it strange that these are the prom- 
inent traits of a people whose star of destiny has so suddenly 
risen to the zenith ; of a people nurtured into confidence in 
themselves by an almost unremitting tide of advancement in 
everything which constitutes national grandeur, except the fin- 
ishing touches of art and science, which are yet to be perfected. 

While these conditions have grown upon us in our progress 
down the highways of time, we have laid upon ourselves heavy 
burdens by premature legislation, not unlike those of the erratic 
sallies of childhood. Wiser counsels must come to our rescue 
to make amends for these, just as the well-digested thoughts of 
maturity i-ecast the images of youth. 

Breathing time has now come to view the ground over which 
we have traveled, doubly endeared to us, because we ourselves 
were the first to take possession of it, and because we fashioned 
its institutions after our own model. That our history rises in 
importance as we assume larger proportions in the body politic, 
is manifested by the eagerness with which every thing pertain- 
ing to the early records of the West is sought after, and by the 
increasing number of Historical Societies springing up through- 
out the country, for the preservation of these precious relics. 

The rival interests of nations, complicated with religious and 
social conditions, produce war, and the province of the historian 
is not circumscribed to the details of the battle-field. These are 
but the means by which the passions and sympathies of nations 
achieve their ends. Hence, history, without reference to issues 
and contingencies, is only a bundle of facts, packed into the 
leaves of a book too tightly for the wedge of inquiry to let light 
shine between them. If the historian has failed to introduce to 
his readers the motive power that lets loose the dogs of war, his 
book will be like the play of "Hamlet with Hamlet left out." 
That history has taken the first place in literature, is due to the 
exhaustless character of its subjects, among which may be found 
truths which foreshadow the future from the past, and leave a 
more abiding impression than the teachings of fiction. 

The Authob. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Jacques C artier explores the St. Lawrence River — Settlement of 
Quebec — Discovery of Lake Ghamplavti — Expedition against 
the Lroquois — Dutch settlement at Albany — Discovery of Lake 
Huron — The Falls of St. Mary reached — The French take 
formal possession of the country — Discovery of tlie Mississip- 
pi Liiver — ThePictured Liocks — Discovery of the ChicagoPort- 
age — Marguette winters at Chicago — The Lndlans' affection 
for him — Religious sei'^ices on the prairies — Death of Mar- 
quette — The removal of his remains to St. Lgnace — LLts Jour- 
nal — Late discovery of his bones. 

CHAPTER 11. 

Ft. Catarauqui built at the Outlet of Lake Ontario — La Salle 
arrives in Canada — His Ambitious Plans — He builds a Ves- 
sel for Navigating the Lakes- — He sails for Green Bay., and 
is sent back Laden with Furs — La Salle arrives at the mouth 
of the St. Joseph and builds a Fort — Goes to the Hlinois 
River and commences Building a Vessel to Explore the JLis- 
sissippi to its Mouth— Hennepin starts to Explore the Upper 
Mississippi — His Captivity — DuLhut among the Sioux — Let, 
Salle returns to Canada to raise Recruits — Bad News from 
Ft. Creve-Cmur — Retribution — Lroqtiois Lnvasion of the Llli- 
nois Countiry — Lndian Trading Policy — Desperate Exploit of 
Tonty — Goimcil with the Western Tribes — La Salle's Plans 
Resuined — Sticeess. 

CHAPTER III. 

La Salle Returns to the Hlinois Country — Ft. St. Louis Built 
— rLaSalle leasves Tonty in Command of Ft. St. Louis, and 
Starts for France — Tonty Unjustly Superseded in Command 
by La Barre., the New Governor of Canada — La Salle at 
theCotcrt for Louis XLV. — La Barre Liecalled — Tonty Re- 
stored to Command — La Salle furnished with a Fleet to Sail 
for the Mouth of the Mississippi and Estahlish a Colony — • 
The Fleet passes its Destination, and Lands on the Coast of. 
Texas — Treachery of Beaujeu—Lxt Salle Builds a Fort — Lii& 



Contexts. 

Vessels Zo6t — Desperate Comllt'ton of the Colony — La Salle 
starts Across the Wilds for the Illinois Gountry^He is As- 
sassinated on the Way — The Murderers fall upon each other 
— Return of Cavelier and His Party — Tonty^s Fort on the 
Arkansas — Memlacious Concealtnent of La Salle's Death — 
Iherville and Bienville make, a Settlement at the Mouth of 
Mississippi — Analysis of the English Colonies. 

CHAPTER IV. 

F'^-"st passage throtigh the Detroit Elver — A Stone Stattie found 
there — English on the Upper Lakes — Settlement of Detroit — 
The Foxes Attack the Place — Mission of Father Marquette 
at Michillmackinac — Cahokia and Kaskaskia Settled — Ft. 
Chart res — Vlncennes Settled — Comparison of the \English 
with the French Colonies — The Paris Convention to Establish 
the Line between the English and French in A^nerica— 
Convention at Allany — The Ohio Company—The French 
Build Forts on FrencJi Creek — Gov. Dimclddle sends Wash- 
ington to Warn them out of the Coxmtry — The Ohio Company 
send Trent to Build a Fort where Pittsburgh now stands — 
He is driven aioay by the French — Washington sent to the 
Frontier — He Attacks the French — Retreats — Builds Ft. 
Necessity — The Fort taken by the French. 

CHAPTER Y. 

General Braddock arrmes in America — Plan of the First Cam- 
paign — Baron Dleskau reaches Canada- — Braddock marches 
against Ft. Duquesne — His Defeat — Expedition to Acadia 
— Shirley starts to take Ft. Niagara — Johnson^s Campaign 
<yn the shores of Lake George — Defeat of Dleskau— Lord 
Loudon appointed Commander-in-Chief of the English for- 
ces — Gen. Montcalm appointed to command the French force-^ 
— English and French Policy ami Diplomacy — Montcalm 
takes Oswego — Loudon^s Expedition starts to attack Lotiis- 
burg — Ft. William Henry taken by Montcalm — Loudon re- 
called and Gen. AbercromUe pid hi his pilace — Loulsburcj 
taken by Admiral Boscawen — Gen. AbercromUe attacks Tt- 
conderoga — Gen. Bradstreet takes Ft. Frontenac — Gen. 
Forbes' Expedition against Ft. Duquesne — Mission of Chris- 
tian Frederic Post — Ft. Duquesne Evacuated and taken pos- 
session of by Forbes — Gen. AbercromUe recalled and Gen. 
Amherd put in his place — Ft. Niagara taken by Gen. John- 
,^011 — Ticonderoga and Croion Point Evacuated — Quehec 
taken by Gen. Wolfe— Canada and the West given up> to the 
Englisfi. 



C(J^'TKM't3. 



CHAPTER YL 



lioqers sent hy Gen. Amherst to take Possession of Detroit — 
Me meets Pontiac on the way — Holds a Colloquy with hhn — 
Detroit Garrisoned hy the English., under Ga])t. Camjybell 
— Discontent of the Indians — Alexa/)ider Henry amves at 
MichiUm,ackv)iac — Conspiracy to drive the English out of the 
Cotintry — Detroit salved from Massacre hy an Ojihway Girl 
— Is Besieged — Massacre at Miehilimackmac — Narrow Es- 
cape of Alexander Henry — St. Joseph., Ouatanon, Miami., 
and Sandusky taken hy the Indians — Capture of the 'Batteau 
Fleet sent to Succor Detroit — Horrihle Massacre of the Sol- 
diers — Detroit Relieved — Ao'rival of Capt. Dalzell — His 
Disastrous Sortie — Desperate Defense of a Vessel loaded 
with Supplies — Pontiac retires to the Maumee Rapids. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Et. Pitt Besieged hy the Irtdians — Eate of Ets. Presque Isle, 
Le Bceiif and Venango — Col. Bouquet marches to the Relief 
of Et. Pitt — Battle of Bushy Run — Gen. Amherst resigns 
his p)Osition as C ommander-in-Chief and Gen. Gage is ap- 
jyointed his successor — SirWm. Johnson calls an Indian Con- 
vention at Niagara — Gen. Bradstreet marches to the Relief 
of Detroit — Col. Bouquet invades the Indian Country on me 
Muskingum River — Holds a Council toith the Indians — De- 
mands tJie Rendition of Captives — Passionate emotions of 
forest life — Preliminaries of Peace — The Army returns to 
the frontier settlements in Pennsylvania with W6 returned 
eapti/ces. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The llUnpis Country — Slavery — The Lead Trade — LaClede^a 
Grant — Et. Ghartres — Settlement of St. Louis — Louishins 
ceded to Spain — The English^ under Major Loftus, attempt 
to pi-netrate to the Illinois Country hy %oay of the Missis- 
sippi — Are repulsed — Geo. Croghan — He advances to the 
Illinois Country — Is taken pHsoner — Is released — Hoidx a 
Council with his Indian captors^ and hrings them to terms 
favorable to the English — Items from his Journal — The 
Jllinois Country taken possession of hy Captain Sterling 
— Proclamation of Gen. Gage — Early Governors of the 
Illinois Country— Pontiac in Council loith Sir William 
Johnson— He resigns his amhitions designs — His death and 
its consequences — Cltlcago, the Indian Chief 



Contents, 

CHAPTER IX. 

The E7iglish attempt to prevent Settlements heyond the Ohio- 
River — Eafly Commercial Policy — The NorthiDest annexed 
to Canada — Battle of Point Pleasant — Logan — RevoUi- 
tionary Sentiments on the Frontier — Girty, Elliot and 
McKee — The Continental Congress — The Issue among the 
Indiaris — Expeditions against St. Joseph — George Rogers 
Clarl' — His 'Expedition against the Illinois Country and 
Vincennes — Indian Council at CahoMa — Father Gihatdt — 
Francis Vigo — War Declared Betioeen England a/nd Spain- 
— Its effect on the Illinois Country. 

CHAPTER X. 

Moravian Settlements on the MusMngum — Premonitions of 
the American Revolution- — British Emissaries A^nong trie 
Indians — Forts Mcintosh and Laurens Built — Desperate 
Attack on the Latter — The Siege Raised hy Hunger — The 
Moravians Removed — -Mary Ileckwelder^s Account — Horri- 
hle Slaughter of the Exiles — Crawford's Expedition Against 
Sandusky — The Enemy Encountered — Crauford Taken 
Prisoner — His Awful Death hy Fire — Peace — Complex Di- 
plomacy at the Treaty of Paris — Firmness of Jay Tri- 
umphant. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Characteristics and Costume of the Virginia Border Men and 
the New England Pioneers — The Ohio Company Formed — 
Marietta Settled — Cession of the Northwest to the United 
States — Symes' Purchase — Columhia, North Bend and Cin- 
cinnati Settled — Emigration in Arks — TJie British on the 
Lakes — Their Relations with the Lndians — St. Clair Arrives 
at Marietta as Governor of the Northwest Territory — Courts 
Estahlished — Harmer Invades the Indian Country—The 
French and Indian Villages on the Wahash Destroyed. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Little Turtle — His Masterly Ahilities — Privations of the Early 
Settle7'S — St. Claires Expedition against the Indians — His 
Defeat — Its Causes — He Resigns — Gen. Anthony Wayne 
Succeeds him — Peace Commissioners on the Canada Border — 
The Indians claim the Ohio River as a Boundary Line 
hetween Themselves and the Whites — The Terms Inadmissible 
and the Council a Failure. 



COiSITENTS. ■ k 

* 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Genet, the Minister of the New French Republic, Sent to the 
United States — Ahuse of his Power Dangerous to America — 
He is Recalled at the Reqiiest of Jefferson- — General Waame 
marches against the Indians — Builds Fort Recovery — The 
Indians Attack the Place — Are Repulsed — Evidence of En- 
glisli Complicity with the Indian Cause— General Wayne Ad- 
vances to the St. Mary's River — Sends Peace Proposals to 
Little Turtle — He wishes to accept them, hut is Overimled in 
the Council — A Decisive Battle Ensues — General Wayneun- 
der the Giins of the English Fort — The English Gonimander 
Takes Offense — An angry C orrespondence Ensues — English 
View of the Case — Fort Wayne Built — Treaty of Greenville — 
Little Turtle^ s Honorahle Record — His death — Puhlic Honors 
to his Memory — The Free Namcjation of the Alississippi 
conceded hy Spain — The English give up the American 
Posts on the Lakes — Cleveland Settled. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

William Henry Harrison; His Ancestry and Birth — Is ap-^ 
pointed Governor of the Indian Territory — Spanish posses- 
sion of Louisiana — Napoleonh Ambitious Designs Shoicn 
hy the Conquest of St. Domingo, and hy the Purchase of Lou- 
isiana from Spain — French Designs Frustrated hy the En- 
glish — Purchase of Louisiana hy the United States — Conse- 
quent Necessity of a Fort on the Upper Lakes — St. Joseph- 
Chosen for its Locality — The Indians Ohject to its Erection 
— Chicago Next Selected — The Fort Btiilt Here — Margaret 
and Elizaheth, the Captives — Their Adventures, and what 
greio out of Them — John Kinzie — His Youthful Lij-e — He 
Settles in Chicago — The Fur Trade and the Engages. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Governor Harrisorts Efforts to Extinguish Indian Titles to- 
Lands — Indian Discontents — Tec%imseh — The Prophet — 
Tecumsel^s Intervieio with Harrison — Its Threatening As- 
pect — TecumseKs Attempt to Form a Confederacy — Harri- 
son Marches into the Indian Country — Encamps at Tippe- 
canoe — The Prophet Attacks Him — Is Defeated — Tccumseh^& 
Plans Frtistrated hy the Battle — The Territory of Illinois 
Organized — Ninian Edwards Appointed Governor. 



CONTKNTS. 

CHAPTER XYI. 

J^ai/s Treaty of 179 J^. — Its Beneficial Effects — Decrees of Berlin 
and Milan — Betaliatory Eiujlish Orders — The Continental 
8 yst-eon— America yictimizcd, hyit — The Emhargo and non- 
Intercourse Acts — F-ndtless Negotiation hetioeen England 
<ind the United States — Complications with France — The 
French Decrees Bevol'ed — The United States Decla.re ^Yar 
Against England— The British on the lakes — General Hull 
Beaches Detroit with an Arnii/ — Crosses into Canada — Be- 
connoisance of Colonel Cass — Mrst Hostile Shot in the War 
of 1812 — Genercd Hull Betums to Detroit — Michilimacinac 
Tal'en hy the English — Tecuniseh in the BritisJi Service — 
Indian Baid on Lee's Blace — Panic at Chicago — General 
Hull at Detroit — He Crosses the Biver into Canada — His 
Pcr])lexities — His S arisen der. 



CHAPTEE XYII. 

Fort Dearhorn in Danger — Its Evacuation ordered hy General 
Hall — Winnemac, the Friendly Messenger — Vacillating 
Poli4:y of Captain Ileald, the Commander — Inrflexibility of 
Eneign Bonan — John Kinzie, his Wise Counsel — Council 
with the Pottaumttomies — Bad Faith of Cajptain Ileald in 
the Destructiori of Arms, etc. — Ilonorahle Confession of 
Bla<'k Partridge — Anival of a Heroic Friend— The Fort 
Evacuated — Indian Treachery — Mrs. Ilelni's Graiyhic Ac- 
count of tJie Massacre which followed. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

The British ta'ke the Offensive — Fort Wayne Beseiged hi/ their 
Indian Allies — Timely Warning to its Defenders — General 
Hannson Marches to its Defense — Desperate and Successful 
Defense of Fort Harrison hy Caiytain Taylor — Da'rinq 
Achievement of Cajptain Oliver — Arrived of General Harri- 
son at Fort Wayne — Its Beseigers fy — Expedition Against 
the Indian Towns on the HI in ois Biver — Its Bootless' Ter- 
mination — Govo'nor Beynolds in the BanJiS — His Statement 
— Bel-entless Attacl' on Peoria — The English on the Upper 
Mississippi — Black IlawVs Historical Narration. 



Contents. 



CHAPTEll XIX. 



General Harrison Appointed to the Gommam^d of the NoHh- 
western Army — Ten Thoiisand Men liaised to Reclaim De- 
troit and Invade Canada — A Wilderness of Mnd Interposes- 
heticeen the Comhatants — General Winchester Reaches the 
Rapids of the Maiimee — Advances to French Town, on the 
River Raisin — Battle of the River Raisin, Ending in De- 
feat, Capitulation and Treacherous Slaughter qf XVar Pris- 
oners — Fort Jleigs Bvilt at the Rapids — General Proctor 
Advances Against the Place— Desperate Attack and /Success- 
ful Defense of the Post— The British Retreat and Attack 
Ft. Stephenson— The Masked Six-pounder and its Fatal 
Effects— Route of the British — The \Var Transferred to Can- 
ada — Ihe AincricanWar Fleet Sails from Erie — The Naval. 
Battle — The Amencan Army in Canada — Battle of the 
Thames — Tecnmseh Slain — Michigan Reclaimed — Peace, 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Great West as a New Arena for Progress — Religions Free- 
dom — Its Effects — Distril'utive Yersiis Concentrated Team- 
ing— Onr Norman Pedigree and Its Effects — The Takes a 
Highway to the West — Fort Dearl>orn Rebuilt — Preliminai'y 
Siirvey for the Illinois and Michigan Caned — John Kinzie 
Retuims to Chicago — Indian Treaty Relinqtiishing lands 
from Chicago to the Illinois River — Illinois Admitted Into 
the Union as a Sovereign State — Its Northern Bonndary 
Extended — Reasons for it — Chicago the Central Key of 
the Nation. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

The Fur Trade of Canada Under a French Charte) — The 
Hnguenot Sailors — Dutch Rivalry — T/ie Hudson Bay Com- 
pany — The Northwest Company Its Rival — The Two Com- 
panies Merged into One — The Amencan Fur Company 
under John Jacoh Astor — Astoria. Founded, and Taken hy 
the Hudson Bay Company — Mr. Astor Begins Anew at 
Mackinaw — Hardihood of the Engagees — The American, 
Fur Conipcmy Establish a Branch at Chicago — Gurdon S. 
Hubbard as Clerk for the American Fur Comp)any — Arrives 
at Chicago — His Report of the Place — Descends the Des- 
plaines — His Report of the Indians and their Wigwams — 
Hostile Repartee with an Indian — The Factory System — 
First Wedding in Chicago — Great Indian Treaty at Chi- 
cago— Gove/rnor Cass Opens the Council — Three Thousand 
Indians Eat Rations at Govei^iment Expense — Sp>eech of 
Metea — Colonel E. Ghilds' Description of the Country. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Tlic Name Chicago First A2yp€ar% on School Atlases — The 
Mysteries Beyond — Adventures of James Galloway and 
What Greiv out of Them — Arrival of the Clyhourns at 
Chicago — Chicago S^irveyed and Laid Out in Village Lots 
— The Winnebago Scare — The Illinois and JLichigan Ca- 
nal Located — Civil History of Early Chicago — County 
Organisation — Adjacent Settlements — David McKee^s 
Narration. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

The Winnelagoes, the Pottawatomies^ and the Sacs and Foxes 
in 183-2 — Black Hawlvs Village and Cornfield Purchased 
iy the Whites — Forbearance of the Indiaois — A Transient 
Compromise— Governor Reynolds Calls for Volunteer's to 
Drive Aioay the Indians — Tlicy Retire Aci'oss the Missis- 
sippi — Bad Advice of White Cloud, the Prophet — Black 
itaiok Returns to Illinois, and Camps at Sycamore Creek — 
The Dog Feast — The Pursuit — The Alarm — Stillman'S De- 
feat—Indian Creek Massacre — Flight of the Frontier&rs — 
Gensral Scott ArHves at Detroit — The Cholera Ainong his 
Men — He Arrives at Chicago — Fearful Ravages of the 
Pestilence — Black Hcnck's Fugitive Skirmishes in- Northerti 
Illinois — His Retreat — Battle of Bad Axe — General Scott 
Arrives at Fort Armstrong — Black Hatck Brought in as a 
Prisoner — The War Ended. 

CHAPTER XXIY. 

Chicago as Se-en by Philo Carpenter in 1832 — Eli B. Wil- 
liam^^ Report of Chicago in 1833 — Cook County Organized 
— The Town of Cldcago Organised under a Board of T^rus- 
tees — The Mouth of the River Opened — The First Public 
Loan— Indian Treaty of 1830— Ditto of 1833 at Chimgo— 
Gixiphic Description of Chicago and the Treaty by an En- 
glish Traveler — The Indian Titles Extinguished — The In- 
dians Removed. 

CHAPTER XXY. 

SThe Beaubiens — Pioneer Hotel— Ingenious Device for Lodg- 
ings — The Pioneer Newspaper — Its Subscription List — 
Wolff^s Point — Its Inhabdants — Alexander Robinson — His 
Character — His Wonderful Age — Shabonce — His Character 
— Chicago in 183 Jf. — Cliicago in 1835 — Turning the First 
Sod for the Canal — Celebratiort of the Event — Its Conse- 
■ quences — The Last Records of Chicago as a Town 



Contents. 15 

Chicago Chartered as a City. 

First Mayor Elected — Whig and Democratic Issue — Enlarge- 
ment of the City in Wards, and Extension of City Limits. 

Official Record of Fort Dearborn. 
Its Locality — Last Relicts Destroyed i7i the Great Fire. 

The Chicago Post Office: 

Its various Localities — List and Ter:r-s of its Post Masters — 
Its Revenue. 

The Chicago Harbor: 
Apiyropnaiions to Imj)rove it — Its Present Capacity. 

Convention of iS6o: 

Its JS^ational Character — Adajytation of CJiicago to its Re- 
quirements — Abraham Lincoln its Choice — Its Results. 

The Great Chicago Fire: 

Its Origin — Area hurnt over — Amount, of Property Destroyed 
— A Night of Horrors — Victims in the Open Air — Elas- 
tic Force of the City Government — Generosity of American 
Towns and Cities — Europe Responds— The Rebound — The 
Building Mania. 

Grammar of American Names. 

Analysis of Names on American Maps — Indian Names — 
Their Meaning and Derivation. 

Diary of George Washington on his Tour to the 

Ohio ix 1753; 

JShea's Introduction and Notes to it — Young Washington meets 
the French in Council — Warns them out of the Countn/ — 
Returns to Virginia — ITis Narrow Escape fro^n Death., and 
his Sufferings on the Route. 



LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 



MAPS. 



2 



Fac Simile of tlie Autograpli Map of tlie Mississippi, or Concep- 
tion Kiver, drawn by Father Marquette at the time of his 
vo^^age. From tlie original, preserved in St. Mary's Col- 
lege, Montreal. 

Map illustrating the Discovery of the Korthwest, and the C- " 
French and Indian AVar. 

.Maj) illustrating Pontiac's "War, and the Campaigns of Gen. 

Clarke, Gov; St. Clair, Gen. Wayne, and Gen. Harrison. / - 

Map of Chicago in 1SI2. 

Map illustrating tlie I'lack Hawk War, in 1S32. - 

Map of JS^ortheru and Central Illinois, in 1835. 

Map of Chicago HarI)or, in 1880. 

VIEWS. 

Frontispiece — Gen. Harrison and Tecnmseh in Council at Yin- 
cennes, in 1810. 

St. Louis in 1833. From an Original Fainting by Geo. Catlin, 
in possession of the Mercantile Library Association. 

Fort Washington in 1700 — Site of Cincinnati. "- 

The Old Ivinzie Flouse. The lirst house in Chicago, partly built 
in 17U6; linished and occupied by John Kinzie, in 1804. 

Cincinnati in 1810. 

Costumes, Arms and Habitations of Early Inhabitants. 

Cleveland in 1833. 

Fort AVayne in 1795. 

Marietta in 1792. - , _ 

Battle of Ead A,\e, 183.2. 

Fort Dearborn, Cliicago, as it appeared in 1853. 

17 



CHAPTER I. 

Jaques Gartier explores the St. Laivrence River — Settlement 
of Quebec — Discovery of Lake Charaplain — Kvpedition 
against the Iroquois — Dutch settlement at Albany — Discov- 
ery of Lake Huron — The Falls of St. Mary reached — The 
French take formal possession of the country — Discovery of 
the Mississippi River — Tlie Pictured Rocks — Discovery of 
the Chicago Portage — Marquette winters at Chicago—- The 
Indians' affection for him — Religious services on t lie prai- 
ries — Death of Marquette. The removal of his remains to 
St. Ignace — His Journal — Late disco rery of hi^ bones. 

Far in tlie depths of a new continent, a flat lieatli of waving 
grasses is pierced by a small tranquil stream, from whose unrip- 
pled face the moon-beams had glittered for ages in silence. 

This is all that can be said of the history of Chicago, till the 
■white man visited it, and learned from the Indians that it was a 
convenient portage from the interior to the lakes. 

When Alexander was weeping that there were no more worlds 
to conquer, with no overstrain of the iinagiiiation, we can see 
the Indian securely gliding his canoe over the Chicago river into 
Lake Michigan, with an omnipotent reliance upon his own skill 
and courage, to protect himself from the greatest conqueror on 
earth, and it is difficult to tell which would have been the most 
surprised, Alexander or the Indians, could both have been in- 
formed of each other. 

History beginy with mythology, in the old world, — in the 
new, on an immaculate tablet, simple and positive. Here the 
white man has raised his altars and commenced making his 
jecord. and the traditions of the red man have vanished before 
him. but still some enduring monuments of his nomcriclature 
remain. 

These unlettered lexicographers gave sj'mbolic names to their 
rivers, lakes, islands and to themselves, and in their vocabulary 
they had the name Chicago, wnich, in the language of the 
Illinois tribes meant an onion. A-nd in the lan<rua<re of the Pot- 
tawattomies, who dwelt at Chicairo, it meant a j)ole-cat. Those 



20 Settlement of Quehec. 

we e its literal meanings in a positive sense, and by this name- 
the place where our city stands, has been known from a period 
ante-datin_£j its history.* It is hig-hly prob:\ble that it was thus- 
named because wild onions grew in great profusion there. That 
the name was a synonym of honor, is demonstrated from the tact 
the Illinois tribes named one of their chiefs Chicago, and thus ele- 
vated above his peers, he was sent to France in 1725, and had the 
distinguished honor of being introduced to the Company of The 
Indies.f 

The discovery and exploration of the whole interior of the 
country, was the work of French zeal and enthusiasm. To 
propagate the faith was tlietirst object, at least in theory, but not 
far behind it was amhition t«^ annex new realms to the cn>wn of 
France. In pursuit of these two objects, the exploits of their 
adventurers, soldiers aud missionaries, have justly challenged the 
admiration of the w(.)rld. Borne along by the tidal wave t)f 
glory, these men gathered force and strength as they penetrated 
Into the country, and breathed the air of freedom which pervade 
ed the limitless creation of prairie and forest under the regime 
of the red man. 

Even before the Spaniards under De Soto, had penetrated 
from Florida to the Mississippi river, which was from 1539 to 
1543, the French under Jaques Cartier, had sailed up the St. 
Lawrence as tar as (Quebec. This was in 1534. The delighted 
adventurers returned to France with the news of their discov- 
eries of the w^edge-shaped river ninety miles wide at its mouih, 
graduating to the dimensions of a common river at Quebec. 
What was beyond was left to conjecture for the present, f r 
France was then too much distracted with religi<jus dissensions 
at home, to utilize her discoveries on the St. Lawrence, audit 
was not till 1(308 that she made the attempt. At that time, Sam- 
uel de Champlain, who was justly called the father of New 
France, made a pernument settlement at Quebec. He was the 
man for the place : austere in religion, sapient in politics, and 
courageous in war. 

The deeds of the first settlers of all new countries are germ- 
cells of future destiny. Even the early Lidian ])olicy has had 
its intiuence, and it is not too much to sjiy, may have had much 
to do with casting the lot of the Northwest ultimately, with the 
English colonies, instead of with the French, who were its first 
discoverers and owners. The tribes along the St. Lawrence, or 
Hochelega, as it was sometimes called, were friendly with the 
French, whom they called Ononthio (our older brother.) l\\ 

* Happily there is now (1878) a living witness (Gurdon S. Hubbard, Esq.,) well 
known for candor, who was versed in the Illinois language, whose testimony i-; 
the authority here given for the meaning of the word, and may be looked upoii 
as conclusive. Schoolcrafi and other authorities might also be cited, if more wer<? 
required. 

\ She '; C!'.;r,r'.rvoix. \'ol.\'I, page 76. 



Settlement at Albany. 21 

Ohamplain they beheld their champion who could lead them to 
Tictory against their ancient enemies, the Iroquois, or Five 
Nations, who inhabited the present State of New York, Their 
central seat of power was located on the banks of Onondaga 
lake, among the cluster of lakes which was then, and is now, 
the paradise of the region thereabouts. 

Without discussing the ujerits of the dispute between these 
traditionary enemies, Chaujplain consented to lead a war party 
of his alhes, of the St. Lawrence, against the Iroquois. It was 
in 1G09, the next year after the settlement of Quebec, that he, 
with a canoe tleet of noisy Indians, paddled his way up the 
river, then without a name, wliich connects the waters of Lake 
Champlain'"'' with the St. Lawrence river. Following the West- 
ern Bank of the Lake nearly to the present site of Tic^nderoga, 
at midnight they saw the eneuiy, who, like themselves, were on 
some adventure. The two parties held a parley and agreed to 
land and wait till davli2;ht before commencino: the liojht. In ac- 
coidance with this truce, each band chose their positions like 
duelists on a iield of honor. Champlain opened the battle by 
piercing two Iroquois chiefs through the body at a single shot of 
Jiis rifle, and the brave but astonished Iroquois fled before the 
effective weapons of warfare, which had been so unexpectedly 
introduced among them. But the end was not yet. The same 
year Henry Hudson sailed up the river, which bears his name, 
to the present site of Albany, and built Ft. Orange. Around 
this nucleus of German pcnver (ultimately English power,) the 
Iroquois gathered with amicable intentions, all the more abiding 
from the fiict that the Fi-ench had assaulted them at iirst sight, 
and thus made them their enemies. 

This good fellowship was reciprocated. The Indians wanted 
guns, kettles and knives, and the Dutch wanted furs in exchange 
for them. In a few years they wanted moi-e. As the aggres- 
sive spirit of the French on the St. Lawrence began to make itself 
nuLnifest,the Dutch found their Iroquois allies a convenient bul- 
wark, behind which to take shelter from their Canadian foes, both 
French and Indian, who at an early day often threatened the 
Northern border with destructive forays; meantime Cham plain's 
colony soon began to feel the weight of Iroquois vengeance, re- 
lieved only by treacherous intervals of peace. In 1615 Champlain 
pushed his explorations to the banks of Lake Huron, and flour- 
ishing missionary stations were established in the country of 
the Hurons on the Eastern shore of the lake, which still perpet- 
uates their memory. - In 1641 two zealous missionaries, Jogues 
and Rambault reached the falls of St. Mary, and in 1658, two 
venturesome fur traders, one of whose names was De Groseilles, 
reached the Western extremity of Lake Superior and wintered 

* The lake took its name from him. 



25 Jt^'irU News of the Mississippi. 

among the Sioux, the same people whose descendants over- 
whehiied the army of Gen. Custer m the Black Hills, during 
the summer of 1876. At that time these tribes numbered 
40,000" and held the country tar to the West — even beyond, the 
Mississippi river. They told the French traders about the 
great river which flowed southwardly through the interior, which 
were the lirst direct tidings which came to them of this stream 
The next spring the two traders returned to Canada with an 
escort of 250 Indians and a valuable cargo oi furs. A great 
sensation was produced by this imposing delegation. Tlie 
news they brought of the great river was particularly inspiring 
to the French, whose passion for water channels of communi- 
cation into the interior was overweening. An expedition to 
return with the Sioux to their distant lodges beyond the great 
lakes, was immediately set on foot ; all classes were eager to 
join it, the fur traders for peltries and the missionaries to open 
new fields for gospel cultivation. The former provided them- 
selves with trinkets for barter with the Indians, and the latter 
with baptismal basins wherewith to put the seal of Christianity 
upon their disciples, who were to be converted from heathenish 
darkness into the light of Christianity. Armed with these and 
other appliances, the host's of the devil were to be attacked in 
the very heart of his dominion, to use the language of the 
Jesuit relations during those days of chivalric piety. And in 
truth, when these hardy old Soldiers of tiie Cross appropriated 
the watchwords of the battle Held, as fitting expressions to sym- 
bolize the work before t!,::"n, it cannot be denied that the njeta- 
phor was not far-fetched, especially after Jogues, Lallemant, 
BrebeufjGarreau, and Garnier, had fallen victims of Iroquois ven- 
geance. The expedition started from Montreal the next spring, 
numbering thirty young Frenchmen, to whom were added 
Fathers Leonard Garreau and Gabriel Dreuilletes,t and the 
Sioux delegation who had accompanied the traders. The eyes 
of the ever watchful and jealous Iroquois were upon them, and 
they had but little more than lost sight of their starting place, 
when they were waylaid by these ubiquitous foes. Father Gar- 
rau and several others were killed on the spot, the other French- 

*Charlevoix, Carver, Pike. 

f This emenent missionary had been stationed for several years among the 
Abenaquis of Sagadehoc, (Maine). Returning from thence to Canada, by order 
of his superiors, he was soon commissioned to go to Boston on an embassy, to 
bring about a comity of interest, both religious and secular. Canada at that time, 
was oppressed by the burdens of impolitic legislation, such as the banishment of 
Huguenots and onerous restrictions on the (ur trade, and her Statesmen beheld 
with amazement the ri-ing power of the Massachusetts colyny, and felt a strong 
desire to negotiate a treaty with the Bostonians, for the purpose of working in 
harmony together for the conversion of the Indians, and also to keep them under 
a wholesome restraint by a concert of action between the English and French. 
In response to this overture, the prudential Bostonians, under the counsels of such 
men as Winslow, Dudley, Bradford, and Eliot, declined the proposal. Every 



French Take Possession of the North- West. 23 

men saved themselves by flight, ]eaving their canoes and mer- 
chandise in the hands of the victors. No cause for a quarrel 
had yet had place between the Iroquois and Sioux, and the lat- 
ter were allowed to depart m peace tor their homes. It was not 
till 1G65 that any further progress was made in Western explor- 
ation. At this time, Father Alouez reaching the Falls of St. 
Mary in September, coasted along the southern shore' of Lake 
Superior to the great village of the Chippewas. Here he sum- 
moned a council of Indian nations, composed of delegations 
from all the tribes of the adjacent countries, among whom were 
representatives from the IlUnois tribe, which is the first mention 
made of them. In Father Alouez, they beheld a champion of 
human rights, and to him they unbosomed their griefs by first 
informing him of their ancient grandeur, and then of their 
diminished numbers from hostile visitations of the Sioux on the 
West and the Iroquois from the East, who had extended their 
conquests over the prairies, even before the white man had come 
among them. Alouez addressed them with words of paternal 
care, offering them tlie Christian religion and promising them 
protection against the Iroquois. 

Soon after this, missions were established at Green Bay, St. 
Marys and LaPoint, but the next notable event which took place 
was the grand gathering at St. Marys. Nicholas Perrot was the 
moving spirit of this convention. Thither he summoned Chiefs 
from no less than fourteen tribes to help celebrate the ceremo- 
nials, for a great deed was to be executed. Possession was to 
be taken of the country^ Fifteen Frenchmen were present, 
among whom were Alouez and Joliet. A large wooden cross 
was consecrated, and elevated like a liberty pole of modern 
days. This done, around it knelt the ])riests, who sang, chant- 
ed, and prayed with suitable impressment, and went through the 
forms of taking possession of the country along the upper lakes 
and "Southward to the sea," a description of an unknown 
quantity, for up to that time no explorer had ventured very far 
into the interior. It was well known, however, that a great river 
coursed Southwardly through the count'-y, but whither did it 
lead ? The hopeful theory was, that it opened into waters lead- 
possible token of respect was shown their distinguished guest. But these consid- 
erate representatives of the New American Idea, based on religious toleration, 
determined not to dilute the force of it by complicity with the elements in Can- 
ada, which were cairying weights in the exciting race for National grandeur be- 
tween the two contestants. Moreover, the Iroquois had never raised the haichet 
against Massachusetts, and if they had swept Canada with the fire brand and 
scalping knife, even as the sickel reaps the wheat field and the fire consumes the 
stubble, might it not be in the providence of God to punish them for their per*-e- 
cutions of the Huguenots? Therefore the disappointed Priest was dismissed with 
a refusal to grant his lequest, softened with courtly blandishments, but withal, 
an air of independance, as much as to say : we are willing to trust to the provi- 
dpnce uf God for our future destiny^ and you must also do the same. 



24 Discovery of ike Mississip2?i River. 

ing to Chiriiv, lor toi^; »i:e'^^mg illusion, wliicli had been the in- 
centive to Columbus wl.ci: he penetrated the secrets of the 
ocean, was still the golden dream of the Canadian adventurers. 
Pending these speculations, Father Mai-quette and Joliet ob- 
tained leave from Talon, the Intendant of Canada, to start on 
an expedition for the purpose of bringing to light the mysteries 
of this river, the country it drained and whither it v/ent. 

Joliet was born in Canada and was educated for a priest, but 
was evidently better fitted by nature for an explorer than for a 
father confessor. But Marquette had not mistaken his calling. 
With peculiar fitness and grace his sacerdotal robes depended 
from his shoulders, belted around his waist by the me Icpble 
chord of his priestly order. The love of God and man, and the 
deep adoration of the blessed Virgin who was ht>^ patron Saint, 
were ever visible in his face, which was cast in a mould of benev- 
olence. The tender passions of his youth found vent in the 
pious devotions, which were his every-day routine, and which 
for nearly twenty years, had made him conspicuous among his 
Jesuit brethren in the vanguard of that army of pioneers. 
The two distinguished men started from St. Ignace, a small 
missionary station on the north shore of the Straits of Mack- 
anaw. Two birch bark canoes, five men, a bag of corn meal, 
a string of dried beef and a blanket apiece, constituted their 
outfit, except the all-important appliances for religious devotions, 
such as beads and crosses, so necessary to the success of the 
enterprise. Their route lay along the north shore of Lake 
Michigan and the west bank of Green Bay. Father Alouez 
and Dablon had established the mission of St. Francis Xavier 
here, four years previously, and welcomed the adventurers on 
their laudable enterprise, with that hearty unction which can 
only be appreciated by men who have missions to perform, big 
with future destiny. Resuming their journey, they passed 
through the waters of Lake Winnebago, and thence accompan- 
ied by Indian guides, continued up the Fox river to the carrying 
place across to the Wisconsin river. Lite this stream they 
launched their canoes, and for the first time clipped their paddles 
into the tributary waters of the Mississippi. Down its current 
they passed under cedar-crested precipices of solid rock, 
through forest glooms ami across long stretches of sandy prairie. 
No marks of human life were ap})arenJt along these then silent 
grandeurs Inch are now the admiration of tourists in the pic- 
turescpie State of Wisconsin. On the 17th of June they emerged 
from the prairie copse which fringed the banks ot the Wiscon- 
sin, entered the forest shades which stud the Mississippi, and 
soon found themselves on its broad surface of moving waters, 
*'with a joy I cannot express" says the devout Marquette.* 

*Marquette named it Conception Uiver, in honor of the day on which it waa discsovered. 



F-Tst Interview 'with tlie Indians, 25 

As they passed clown its waters the scenery was changed. The 
banks were less precipitous than the bold headlands of tlie Wis- 
consin, and the country looked more promising, as they obtained 
occasional views of it through the openings along its wooded 
margin. Herds of buffalo were seen grazing on the ample pas- 
turage of the prairies, which must have struck the beholders 
as a waste of nature's gifts. In the neighborhood of the Des 
Moines river, they discovered human foot prints and hesitated 
not to follow them. Leaving their canoes in charge of live men, 
Marquette and Joliet took the Indian path, and after two leagues 
travel, came in sight of their villages. The two adventurers 
shouted to attract attention and four chiefs advanced to meet 
them with friendly tokens. They were of the Illinois tribe and 
hailed the advent of the two Frenchmen witli delight. They 
feasted them with roast buffalo, iish and sagamite (hominy), 
and even honored them with the prc^ffer of roast dog. The dis- 
tinguished guests, however, declined this dainty repast, although 
they did not call in question the spirit of hospitality with which 
it was offered. After suitable prayers, benedictions and com- 
pliments, the Frenchmen took their leave, continuing their course 
down the river. Just above Alton is a high bluff of solid rock. 
On its time-worn surface, some artistic Indian, had in time past, 
exhibited his accomplishments by painting a monstrosity in hu- 
man form.* Marquette was startled at the sight. But the de- 
parted spirit of the savage artist whose genius inspired it and im- ^ 
mortalized his own memory did not come to his rescue. There- » 
fore the pious Marquette was indignant at the sight of the * 
impious device, and doubted not that the devil was its author. 
Fain would he have effaced the sacriligious picture, but it was 
beyond his reach. Painfully he ruminated on this evidence of * 
demonology in the land, as the two bark canoes were borne along 
as if propelled by the forces of nature, till suddenly they found 
themselves in the breakers of the Missouri river, whose eddies 
whirled their light water craft like chaff in a miniature hurri- 
cane. This momentary danger diverted his thoughts from the 
unpleasant subject, and they proceeded along with extra cau- 
tion. They passed tlie site of the present city of St. Louis, slum- 
bering beneath the shades of a full-grown forest, with no pre- 
monition of her future destiny. The giddy heights of Grand 
Tower and the Ohio river were passed without meeting any 
more signs of life, but on the left bank below this river they 
again saw Indians. A friendly interview was secured by means 
ot the calumet, and to their astonishment they found them 

*No historic authority can be quoted for this assumption, but the theory is 
plausible enough to warrant its belief in absence of coniravailing testimony. Por- 
tions of this picture were visible as lafe as 1850, and might liave hpen till this day 
had not the stone on which it was painted been quarried out for building purpoics. 



2Q The Arkansas Reached. 

dressed in broad-cloth and armed with guns.'^^ No tidings of the 
sea coast could be obtained fn)iu them, and the two bands of 
voyagers parted company with an interchange of courtesies. 
Below the Ohio the monotony of scenery is chilling. Here the 
massed floods from the Western slopes ot the Alleghenies and 
the Eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains roll along through a 
low, spongy soil, and with a power mighty and unremitting con- 
tinue to wear away on one bank and replenish on the other, — 
on one side a primeval forest being undermined and falling by 
piecemeal into the river, while on the other a young nursery of 
Cottonwood trees sprouting up, to occupy ground that but a few 
decades past was the bosom of the rolling deep, and a few cen- 
turies past a mature forest of giant trees. Through these glooms 
the adv^enturers passed down the river till the mouth of the 
Arkansas was reached. Here again they met Indians, savage as 
nature could make them. The hot-headed young men of the 
tribe hurled their war clubs at the new-comers, one of which 
flew over Marcpietto's head. The pious missionary prayed to 
the holy Virgin and presented the potent calumet. The old 
men, •seeing the situation, call back and restrain the young at- 
tackers, and a friendly meeting is the result, f >r which Mar- 
quette, with his atjcustomed loyait}^ to the blessed Virgin, gives 
all the credit to her without reserving any for the calumet. From 
their new hosts they learned that the mouth of the Mississippi 
was but ten clays' travel distant, but it was not deemed prudent 
to advance farther with the intense heat of July upon them, and 
the danger of being picked up by Spanish adventurers imminent. 
They had passed below the point where De Soto had discov^ered 
and crossed the Mississippi in loll, which was one hundred and 
thirty-two years previous, but no trace of his work had remained, 
not even in tradition. f The object of their expedition had been 
fulfilled, which was to discover the great river and determine 
whether it emptied into the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean. 
In the latter case the hopes of the past century would be real- 
ized, which was a Western passage to the land of the Grand 
Kahn. That the great river emptied into the Gulf of Mexico no 
doubt could now exist, but that the waters of the Missouri led to 
lakes or straits which opened into the Pacific, was still a pleas- 
ing illusion. 

The voyagers, with thankful hearts, now determined to return, 
and on the 17th of July, after an affectionate leave-taking of their 
conciliated but rather doubtful friends, turned their canoes up- 
stream, when came the tug of tugging, for 'twas no easy task to 

*They probably were a roving band from the far distant borders of civilization 
on the Atlantic coast. 

fSome late historians have stated that Spanish coats of Tnail, captured from De, 
Soto, were found here by the French, but their authority is is not quoted. 



Passage Up the Illinois River. 27' 

stein the current of the Mississippi. Patient toiling at the oar 
finally brought them to the mouth of the Illinois river, where 
the Kaskaskias volunteered to conduct the voyagers to Lake Mich- 
igan by a more convenient route than the one by which they had 
come, which was by the Illinois, the Desplaines and the Chicago 
rivers."^ Marquette gladly availed himself of their services, 
especially as it would bring him to the acquaintance of new 
tribes to whom the blessed words of the Gospel had never been 
spoken. On the Illinois river, especially along the shores of 
Peoria hake, and in the vicinity of Starved Rock, near the present 
site of XJtica, were the principal villages of the Illinois tribes. 
The squaws dug up the rich prairie soil with sharpened sticks, 
planted their corn and cultivated it with the same rude instru- 
ments. The yelh'tw harvest was carefully stored in cachesf for 
the common use of the tribe, none of which was wasted in 
the manufacture of whisky or assigned to tax gatherers. Their 
government, or rather their absence of government, was simple. 
If one person committed an offence against another, prompt ven- 
geance was taken on the spot. All shared alike i:^ creature 
comforts, but yet an aristocracy existed among them quite as 
marked as can be found at the same place now. It was not 
based on wealth, for they had nothing which could represent it 
beyond a few glittering ornaments wliich were within tiie means 
of the humblest porcui»ine hunter; but it was based on some act 
of daring or wise or heroic counsel which had promoted the pub- 
lic weal. These quail tications gave their possessors the right to 
speak in their councils and challenged due homage, from the 
whole tribe. By these qualifications in gradations ot political 
power and influence nice distinctions were made by common 
consent, and he who would transcend these distinctions would be 
ostracised unsparingly, with no asylum wherewith to hide his 
disgrace. 

To these high" minded chiefs, Marquette offered the christian 
religion, and no opposition was made to it ; indeed they set 
their subordinates an example of patronage to it by manifesting 
a commendable interest in it, nor did they by implication or 
otherwise, show any signs of preference for their own God, 
the Great Spirit. Marquette was delighted at the prospect that 
a nation might be born in a day, especially when they listened 
to his religious tenets and elementary explanations of the ])lan 
of salvation, and politely invited him to return and set up the 

*This is conceded to lie the first record made of any allusion t:> the Chicago 
portage, although Alouez, Nichclet and Perrot have each been credited by some 
wrilers as ihe first to visit Chicago. But it is possible, and even probable, that the 
Illinois chiefs informed Alouez of the place at his great council at the Chippewa 
village on Lake Superior in 1665 ; yet no record is made of such information by 
either Shea or Parkman. 

fThese were excavations in the ground, not unlike cellars, covered with earth. 



28 Discovery of Chicago. 

standard of the cross among them. Thus passed the hours of 
his sojourn among the flexible Illinois, and when the pious mis- 
sionary resumed his journey with Joliet and his company of five, 
a large delegation of his late Indian friends accompanied them 
to Chicago. Few people ever came to this place for the first 
time without an excited curiosity to see it, and it is only a rea- 
sonable presumption that these French adventurers were eager 
to behold the face of tlie dear old lake, in whose sparkling 
waters they had for many years glided their light barks in its 
northern extremity, and especially to see the little inlet stream 
called Chicago, to which the Indians attached so much impor- 
tance. 

'Twas in September. The emerald lines of the prairie had 
already been mottled with the mature tints of autumn. The 
summer haze had vanished and the stimulating breath of tlie 
familiar old lake greeted them cheerfully, as the party crossed 
the carrying place from the Desplaines to the South branch 
of the Chicago river. Into tlic little stream they launched their 
■boats, and their wake sent tiny waves among the tall grasses 
which bathed their roots in the water's edge on each side. Here 
the two bands parted with a hearty good-bye, tiie Indians re- 
turned to their lodges and the Frenchmen took their course down 
the western shore of the lake. It is in the economy of Provi- 
dence to hide the book of fate from all, else who could move in 
their accustomed spheres. Where is the fruitage of those seeds 
which Marquette planted during his life-labors in the wilds of 
America, and where the haughty tribes whom the French hoped 
to elevate to their own standard by infusing their own spirit into 
their facile but keen senses I 

The enthusiasm and dash of the French and their tawny al- 
lies have melted away before the silent power which began with- 
out high expectations on the stubborn coast of the Atlantic, and 
the Chicago of to-day is no inconsiderable monument of the force 
of this power. Its destiny, however, was yet a sealed book, and 
so it remained for a century from this time. 

Marquette and his party soon arrived at the Mission at Green 
Bay. J lis strength was exhausted, and he was obliged to remain 
here for the winter to rest, while Joliet should return to Canada 
and report their discoveries to Frontenac, the governor. Am])le 
notes of travel had been carefully prepared and also an autograph 
map of the countrv through w]iich they had passed, on which rivers 
and Indian villages had been laid down with afair aj)proximate to 
accuracy.* Marquette rested at the comfortable quarters of the 

"This map is siili preserved in the college of St. Mary in Montreal A fac 

simile of it has been published by Mr. Shea, o{ New York, anil inserted in his 

book entitled, " Discovery of the Mississippi." It has also been inserted in the 

margin of Blanchard's Historical Map of the United States, published at Chicago 

in 1876, and a copy reduced in scale is herewith presented. 



Marquette Winters at Chicago. 20 

mission liouse at Green Bay the ensuing winter, and when spring 
came he was still too weak to retnrn to preach the gospel to the 
Illinois tribes, according to his promise when he left them.. He 
therefore deferretl his de})artiire till the heats of summer were over. 
On the 25th of October, feeling revived by the bracing intiuences 
of autumn, he, with two companions, Perre arid Jacques, and a 
band of Indians, started on his mission to the Illinois. It took 
them a month to reach Chicago. Here again the strength of the 
missionary gave out and his companions built a log cabin for him 
on the South branch of the Chicago river, and nursed him with 
tender solicitude through the winter, and the Indians often 
brought him such luxuries as their limited means could supply 
to relieve his wants.* There were also some fur traders "at the 
portage," which meant Chicago, who had just established them- 
selves at this important point so lately made known to the Cana- 
dians. They often visited Marquette's humble cabin and di- 
vided their scanty supplies of eatables with the invalid mission- 
ary.f From items of his journal it appears that his Indian 
friends, who visited him with all their willingness to receive his 
religious instruction, had the bad taste to ask him for powder, to 
which request the dying missiimary replied : " Powder I have 
not. We came to spread peace through the land, and I do not 
wish to see you at war with the Miamis.":}; 

The spring floods, which broke up the ice on the 29th of March, 
were so high as to cover the ground where his cabin stood, and 
make the wretched hut untenable. They were therefore forced 
to seek their canoe as an asylum from the swollen waters, and in 
it they passed over to the Desplaines and down its current to the 
IlHnois river. The last item on his journal bears date of April 
6th. On the 8th he arrived at the great village of the Illinois, 
which was situated near the present site of Utica. He was re- 
ceived as "an angel from Heaven," says the relation. Five 
hundred chiefs and old men seated themselves in a circle around 
the Father, and outside of these were fifteen hundred of the com- 
moner classes, ;md beyond tliese were the women and children. 
In short, the whole village had assembled on the green, leaving 
their empty houses behind without fear of burglars or faithless 
servants' misdemeanors dnring their absence. With deep pathos 
the words ol the Father, lU pure Indian dialect, penetrated the 
hearts of his hearers and inspired them with a transient venera- 
tion for the Christian's God. These were his last services. His 

*Shea's Discovery of the Mississippi Valley, page 54. Packman's Discovery of 
the Great West, page 68. 

fShea, page 54. 

|The Illinois and Miamies to the east of theni had been enemies for many years, 
and remained so till La Salle, in 1682, with skillful diplomacy, negotiated a per- 
mrr.-n- "-cr^ci: betv.-c:n them. See Tonty's Life of La Salle. 



"30 • Death of Marquette. 

sands of life had almost rim out, and feeling a desire to reach 
Canada before he died, he made haste to take his leave. He had 
endeared himself to his Indian flock, proofs of which thev gave 
by accompanying him in large numbers on his return as far as 
Chicago, and contending with each other for the honor of con- 
veying his baggage. From Chicago he had determined his route 
to Canada by the Eastern shore of Lake Illinois, as Lake Michi- 
gan was then called. The same two companions were with him 
who had conducted him from Green Bay to the Illinois villages. 
The love between these young men and their spiritual father was 
tender and sincere on both sides, and as they plied their oars 
along the still shores of the lake with unremitting strokes, the 
tixther instructed them how to bury him wiien death came, for he 
now felt certain that he could not live to reach Canada. Arriving 
at a place a Jittle below Sleeping Bear Point, the father 
felt a strong desire to land, but his companions, wishing to make 
all possible haste on the way, tried to persuade him to keep on 
their course. At that moment a storm began to make a com- 
motion in the waters, and they landed and built a hut of bark for 
their dying master and carried him in their arms from the boat to 
it. While his strength yet held out he took the precaution to write 
down his own sins, or what he called such, since his last con- 
fession to his superior, for propitiation. Next he promised to re- 
member his two attendants in heaven ; and then, after asking 
their pardon for the trouble he had caused them, he begged them 
to lay down to rest by his side, promising to awaken them when 
the last agony came. In about two hours he called them to his 
side and soon died in transports of joy. 

Perre and Jacques buried him on the bank of the lake and 
erected a large wooden cross over his grave, and with deep de- 
jection left the spot where their beloved father had laid down to 
take his last rest, whei-e twenty years of toiling through the 
wilderness had brought him. 

It was late in the Spring, on the 19th of May, that his death 
took place, and the news of the sad event came to the different 
tribes of the country not long after they had returned to their 
various homes from the usual winter's hunt. A universal tribute 
of resjiect was shown to his memory. The Ottawas, of Canada, 
did more than to express this in words. The next spring, 1076, 
as one of their hunting parties were returning from the vicinity 
of the grave, they dug up the remains and separated the bones 
from the decayed flesh, according to the Indian custom, and en- 
veloped them in a casket of birch bark. This done, they care- 
fully conveyed the precious rel cs to the nearest missionary sta- 
tion, which was at St. Ignace, opposite Michilimakinac. Asthey 
approached the place they were met by the priests at the head 
■of a procession of the resident traders and Indians. Withim- 



Maaquette' s Journal. 31 

pressive funeral services the bones were interred beneath the 
floor in the chapeh 

" Rev. Father : the Peace of Christ : Having been compelled to remain all 
summer at St. Francis on account of my ill-health, and having recovered in the 
month or September, I waited for the arrival of our people returning from below 
(i. e., Quebec), to know what I should do for my wintering. They brought me 
orders for my voyage to the Mission of the Conception among the Illinois. Hav- 
ing met Your Reverence's wishes touching copies of my journal on the Mississippi 
river, I set out with Pierre Porteret and Jacque , Oct. 25, 1674. In the after- 
noon the wind forced us to lay up for the night at the mouth of the river, where 
the Poltawatamies were assembled ; the head men not wishing any to go off to- 
wards the Illinois, for fear the young men would lay up furs with the goods they 
had brought from below, and after hunting beaver would resolve to go down in 
the spring, when they expect to have reason to fear the Sioux. 

" Oct. 26. — Passing to the village, we found only two cabins there, and they 
were starting to winter at La Gasparde ; we learned that five canoes of Poltawat- 
amies and four of Illinois had set out to go to the Kaskaskia. 

"27. We were detained in the morning by rain ; in the afternoon we had fair 
Aveather and calm, and overtook at Sturgeon Bay, the Indians who preceded us. 

" 28. We reached the portage ; a canoe which was ahead prevented our killing 
any game ; we Ijegan our portage, and cabined for the night on the other side, 
where the bad weather gave us much trouble. Pieire did not come in till one 
o'clock at night, having got lost on a road on which he had never before been. 
After rain and thunder, snow began to fall. 

" 29. Having been compelled to change our cabinage, we continued to carry 
the bundles. The portage is about a league long, and very inconvenient in some 
parts. The Illinois, assembling in Our cabin in the evening, ask us not to leave 
them ; as we might need them, and they know the lake better than we do, we 
promised. 

" 30. The Illinois women finished our portage in the morning ; we are de- 
tained by the wind. No game. 

"31. We start with pretty fair weather, and stopped for the night at a little 
river. The road from Sturgeon Bay, by land, is a very difficult one ; we did not 
travel far on it, last fall, before we got into the woods. 

" Nov. I. Having said holy mass, we halted at night at a river, from which a 
fine road leads to the Pottawatamies. Chachagwessiou, an Illinois, much es- 
teemed in his nation, partly because he concerns himself with trade, came in at 
night with a deer on his shoulder, of which he gave us part. 

"2. Holy mass said, we travelled all day with fair weather. We killed two 
cats, which were almost clear fat. 

"3. As I was on land walking on the beautiful sand, the whole edge of the 
water was of herbs similar to those caught in nets at St. Ignace ; but coming to a 
river which I could not cross, our people put in to take me on board, but ,ve 
could not get out again on account of the swell. All the other canoes went on 
except the one that came with us. 

"4. We are detained. There is apparently an island off shore, as the birds 
fly there in the evening. 

"5. We had hard work to get out of the river. 'At noon we found the Indians 
in a river, where I undertook to instruct the Illinois, on occasion of a feast, which 
No-wasking we had just given to a wolfskin. 

"6. We made a good day's travel. As the Indians were out hunting, (hey 
came on some footprints of men, whicli obliged us to stop next day. 

" 9. We landed at two o'clock, on account of the fine cabinage. We were de- 
tained here five days on account of the great agitation of the lake, though there 
was no wind ; then by the snow, which the sun and a wind from the lake melted 
next day. 

"15. After travelling sufficiently, we cabined in a beautiful spot, where we 
vycffe detailed three dava. Pierre mends an Indian's cun. Snow falls at night 
iiuu mexxs ny uwy 



Marquette s Journal. 



"20. We slept at the Bluffs, cabined poorly enough' The Indians remain be- 
hind, while we are detained by the wind iwo days and a half. Pierre, going into 
the woods, finds the prairie twenty leagues from the portage. He also p^sed by 
a beautiful canal, vaulted as it were, about as high as a man ; there was a foot of 
water in it. 

" 21. Having started about noon, we had hard enough work to make a river. 
The cold began from the east, and the ground was covered with a foot of snow, 
which remained constantly from that time. We were detained there three days, 
during whit.'.! Pierre killed a deer, three wild geese and three turkeys, which were 
very good. The others passed on to the prairies. An Indian having discovered 
some cabins came to tell us. Jacques went with hini there the next day. Two 
hunters also came to see me. They were Maskoutens to the numbers of eight or 
nine cabins, who had separated from each other to be able to live. They travel 
all winter with hctrdships almost impossible for Frenchmen, by very difticult 
roads ; the land being full of streams, small lakes and marshes. They are very 
badly cabined and eat or fast according to the spot where they happen to be. 
Having been detained by the wind, we remarked that there were large sand- 
banks ofl" the shore, on which the waves broke continually. There I felt some 
symptoms of a dysentery. 

" 27. We had hard enough work to get out of the river ; and having made 
about thf^e leagues, we founil the Indians, who had killed some buffalo, and also 
three Indians, who had come from the village. We were detained there by a wind 
from the shore, immense waves that came from the lake, and the cold. 

" Dicetnher i. We went ahead of the Indians, so as to be able to say mass. 

" 3. Having said mass and embarked, we were compelled to make a point and 
land, on account of the fog. 

«« 4. We started well to reach Portage River, which was frozen half a foot 
thick. There was more snow there than anywhere else; and also more tracks of 
animals and turkeys. The navigation of the lake from one portage to the other, 
is quite fine, theie being no traverse to make, and landing being quite feasible all 
along, provided you do not obstinately persist in travelling in the breakers and 
high winds. The land along the shore is good for nothing, e.xcept on the prair 
ies. You meet eight or ten pretty fine rivers. Deer hunting is pretty good as 
you get awa)^from the Pottawatamies. 

"12. As they began to draw to get to the portage, the Illinois having left, 
the Pottawatamies arrived with much difficulty. We could not say mass on the 
feast of the Conception, on account of the bad weather and the cold. During 
our stay at the mouth of the river, Pierre and Jacques killed three buffalo and 
four deer; one of which ran quite a distance with his heart cut in two. They con- 
tented themselves with killing three or four turkeys of the many which were 
around our cabin, because they were almost dying of hunger. Jacques brought 
in a partridge he had killed, every way resembling those of France, except that 
it had like tvvo little wings of three or four feathers, a finger long, near the head, 
with which they cover the two sides of the neck, where there are no feathers. 

" 14. Being cabined near the portage, two leagues up the river, we resolved to 
winter there, on my inability to go further, being too much embarrassed, and my 
malady not permitting me to stand much fatigue. Several Illinois passed yester- 
day, going to carry their furs to Nawaskingwe. We gave them a buffalo and a 
deerthat Jacques had killed the day before. I think I never saw Indians more 
greedy for French tobacco than these. They came and threw beaver skins at our 
feet to get a small piece ; but we returned them, giving them some pipes, be- 
cause we had not yet concluded whether we should go on. 

"15. Chachagwessiou and the other Illinois left ustogoandfind their peo- 
ple and give them the merchandise which they had brought, in order to get their 
furs, in which they act like traders and hardly give more than the French ; I in- 
structed them before their departure, deferring the holding a council till spring, 
when I should be at their village ; they gave us for a fathom of tobacco three fine 
buffalo robes, which have done us good service this winter. Being thus relieved, 
we said the mass of the Conception, Since the I4lh, my disease has turned into 
a dysentery, 

"30. Jacques arrived from the Illinois village, which was only six leagues 




"^ °- 






u f Qu 






-"J" — 


F"^ 




i- C/D 


^ 


^ 


-te2§ 


^v* 


^ 
^ 




^ 

^ 





k 
5 



$5 



^ 






to 






Vo 






'^ 



^ 

^=3^ 






^ 

^ 



CO 












CO 









■4 






•*••, 



a3i-.r31 XNva J-NOLLVN 



o 
2 
< 

< 

X 



< 

IS 

z 


H 

*o 

a. 
< 



Q 

Q 



L_ 




NATIONS ESLOLCME^S OAHS 



a! 
LES 2 



< - r -'5 



Q 

o 

< 

—J 

LiJ 



QQ 



r K RFIE5 



^? 



DO 






--0 



4- 






<sJ 



Marquette s Journal. 33 

from here, where they are starving. The cold and snow prevent their hunting. 
Some having informed la Toupine and the surgeon that we were here, and unable 
to leave their cabin, had so alarmed the Indians, believing that we would starve 
remaining here, that Jacques had great trouble in preventing fifteen young men 
from coming to carry all our affairs. 

*^yan. i6, 1675. As soon as the two Frenchmen knew that my illness prevented 
my going to them, the surgeon came here, with an Indian, to bring us some whortle- 
berries and bread ; they are only eighteen leagues from here, in a beautiful hunting 
ground for buffalo and deer, and turkeys, which are excellent there. They had, too, 
laid up provisions while awaiting us, and had given the Indians to understand that 
the cabin belonged to the blackgown. And I may say that they said and did all 
that could be expected of them ; the surgeon having stopped here to attend to his 
duties, I sent Jacque with him to tell the Illinois, who were near there, that my 
illness prevented my going to see them, and that if it continued I should scarce- 
ly be able to go there in the spring. 

•* 24. Jacque returned with a bag of corn and other refreshments that the 
French had given him for me ; he also brought the tongues and meat of two buf- 
falo that he and an Indian had killed near by ; but all the animals show the bad-, 
ness of the season. 

"26. Three Illinois brought us from the head men, two bags of corn, some 
dried meat, squashes, and twelve beavers ; 1st, to make me a mat; 2d, to ask me 
for powder ; 3d, to prevent our being hungry ; 4th, to have some few goods. I 
answered them : firstly, that I had come to instruct them, by speaking to them of 
the prayer, &c ; secondly, that I would not give them powder, as we were en- 
deavoring to diffuse peace on all sides, and I did not wish them to begin a war 
with the Miamis ; thirdly, that we were in no fear of starving; fourthly, that I 
would encourage the French to carry them goods, and that they must satisfy those 
among them fi>r the wampum taken from them, as soon as the surgeon started to 
come here. As they had come twenty leagues, to pay them for their trouble and 
what they brought me, I, gave them an axe, two knives, three clasp knives, ten 
fathoms of wampum, and two double mirrors ; telling them I should endeavor to 
go to the village merely for a few days, if my illness continued. They told me 
to take courage, to stay and die in their country, and said that they had been 
told that I would remain long with ihem. 

'■'■Feb. 9. Since we addressed ourselves to the Blessed Virgin Immaculate, to 
whom we began a novena by a mass, at which Pierre and Jacque, who do all they 
can to relieve me, received, to ask my recovery of the Almighty, my dysentery has 
ceased ; there is only a weakness of the stomach left. I begin to feel much bet- 
ter, and to recover my strength. None of the Illinois who had ranged them- 
selves near us have been cabined for a month ; some took the road to the Potta- 
watamies, and some are still on the lake, waiting for the navigation to open. 
They carry letters to our Fathers at St. Francis. 

. " 20. We had time to observe the tide which comes from the lake, rising 
and falling, although there appears no shelter on the lake. We saw the ice go 
against the wind. These tides made the water good or bad, because what comes 
from above flows from the prairi&s and small streams The deer, which are 
plentiful on the lake shore, are so lean that we had to leave some that we killed. 

" March 23. — We killed several partridg'es : only the male has the little wings 
at the neck, the female not having any. These partridgrs are pretty good, byt do 
not come up to the French. 

" 30. The north wind having prevented the thaw till the 25th of March, it be- 
gan with a southerly wind. The next day game began to appear ; we killed 
thirty wild pigeons, which I found better than those below (Quebec), but smaller, 
both young and old. On the 28th, the ice broke and choked above us. On the 
29th the water was so high that we had barely time to uncabin in haste, put our 
things on trees, and try to find a place to sleep on some hillock, the water gain- 
ing on us all night ; but having frozen a little, and having fallen as we were near 
our luggage, the dyke burst and the ice went down, and as the waters are again 
ascending already, we are going to embark to continue our route 

" The Blessed Virgin Immaculate has taken such care of us during our v.dr.ter- 
tering, that we have wanted nothing in the way of provisions, having a large bag 



34 Discovery of His Bones. 

of corn still left, meat and grease ; we have too, lived most peacefully, my sick- 
ness not preventing me from saying mass every day. We were able to keep Lent 
only Fridays and Saturdays. 

" 31. Having started yesterday, we made three leagues on the river, going up, 
without finding any portage. We dragged for half an arpent. Besides this out- 
let, the river has another, by which we must descend. Only the very high 
grounds escape inundation. That where we are has increased more than twelve 
feet. Here we began our porla^^e more than eighteen months ago. Geese and 
duck pass constantly. We contented ourselves with seven. The ice still brought 
down, detain us here, as we do not know in what state the river is lower down. 

'■'■ April \. As I do not yet know whether I shall remain this summer at the 
village or not, on account of my dysentery, we left there what we could dispense 
with, especially a bag of corn, while detained by a strong south wind. We hope 
to-morrow to reach the spot where the French are, fifteen leagues from here. 

*' 6. The high winds and cold prevent us from proceeding. The two lakes by 
which we have passed, are full of bustards, geese, ducks, cranes, and other birds 
that we do not know. The rapids are pretty dangerous in some places. We have 
just met the surgeon, with an Indian, going up with a canoeloadof furs ; but the 
cold being too severe for men who have to drag their canoes through the water, 
he has just made a cache of his beaver, and goes back to the village with us to- 
morrow. If the French get robes from the country, they do not rob them, so 
great is the hardship they experience in getting them." 

(Copied from The Historical Magazine, contributed by Shea, who trans- 
lated it from the French.) 

The old chapel at St. Ignace stood guard over the remains of Marquette till 
1706, when it was burned by Ihe Jesuits on their departure from this historic 
spot, and until the autumn of 1877 no steps were taken either to memo,rize the 
grave of the missionary explorer or to recover his bones, at which time in the 
mt'nth of May, Pierre Grondau discovered the foundation walls of a small build- 
ing, the stones bearing the marks of fire. The location accorded with the des- 
cription of the spot marked in La Hontan's map, originally published in France 
in 1703, and republished in London in 1772, as the site of the house of the 
Jesuits. 

By direction of Father Jacker, village priest, further excavations were made the 
same year, and conclusive proofs of the identity of the spot as the grave of Mar- 
quette were obtained. The spot where the altar of the Virgin had stood was 
found, and buried in front of it were wrought iron nails, a hinge, and charred- 
wood. These relics, and a large piece of birch bark, in a good state of preserva 
tion, were within the walls of a vault, which walls were of cedar still partially 
preserved. The bones were nearly all turned to dust, two only being found. 

The foregoing facts were obtained from a paper read before the Chicago His- 
torical Society, Oct. i6th, 1877, by Mr. Cecil Barnes, a resident of Chicago, who 
■was an eye-witness, having assisted in the excavation. 



CHAPTER 11. 

Bt. Catarauqui huilt at the Outlet of Lake Ontario — La Salle 
arrives in Canada — His Ambitious Plans — He builds a Ves- 
sel for Navigating the Lakes — It sails for Green Bay, and 
is sent back Laden vrith Furs — La Salle arrives at the mouth 
of the St. Joseph and huilds a Fort — Goes to the Illinois 
River and cominences Building a Vessel to Explore the Mis- 
sissippi to its Mouth — Hennepin starts to Frplore the Upjyer 
Mississippi — His Captivity — Du Lhut among the Sioux — La 
Salle returns to Canada to raise Recruits — Bad News from 
Ft. Creve- C(BU7'~ Retribution — Lroquois Invasion of the Illi- 
nois Country — Indian Trading Policy — Desperate Exploit of 
Tonty — Council with the Western Tribes — La Salle's Plans 
Resumed — Success. 

The journey of Marquette and Joliet had outhned a work far 
beyond the comprehension of any one at that time, and to utilize 
it was too heavy an undertaking even for all the French forces in 
Canada, till ample preparations could be made, in the way of 
building forts to connect Quebec to the Illinois country. The 
French had nothing to fear from the Western tribes, but their 
■communication with them was impossible unless the Iroquois 
could be propitiated ; for these tribes held the whole present 
State of New York, and not only did their canoes sweep Lake 
Ontario, but their war parties often scoured the country north of 
it* Frontenac, a man of distinguished ability, was then Gover- 

*In 1649, an unusually fearful Iroquois invasion was visited upon the Huron 
tribes, who were allies of the French, and among whom successful missions had 
been establisKed. These were destroyed, and two heroic missionaries, Brebeuf 
and Lalemant, refusing to leave their charge in the hour of danger, fell before the 
merciless invaders. The following account of their death is copied from Park- 
man's Jesuits in America : 

•'On the afternoon of the sixteenth — the day when the two priests were captured 
— Brebeuf was led apart, and bound to a stake. He seemed more concerned for 
his captive converts than for himself, and addressed them in a loud voice, exhort- 
ing them to suffer patiently, and promising Heaven as their reward. The Iro- 
quois, incensed, scorched him from head to foot, to silence him ; whereupon, in 
the tone of a master, he threatened them with everlasting flames, for persecuting 
the worshipers of God. As he continued to speak, with voice and countenance 
anchanged, they cut away his lower lip and thrust a red-hot iron down his Ihroa',. 



36 La Salle Arrives in Ca^iada. 

nor of Canada, and, with a view to Western progress, in 1073^ 
had convened a council with the Iroquois, at the outlet of Lake- 
Ontario, to obtain permission of them to bulla a fort. In this 
he was successful, and the fort was constructed at once, and 
named Ft. Catarauqui. This was a great point gained \)y the 
French, for it not only served as a barrier against the recurrence 
of an Iroquois invasion of Canada, but it brought French goods 
into a more direct competition with the Dutch trade at Albany, 
by the facilities which the fort offered as a trading post. 

Conspicuous among the adventurous explorers of Canada at that 
time, was Robert Cavelier, known in history by the name of La 
Salle. He was the son of a wealthy merchant living at Kouen, 
France, from which place he came to Canada in the spring ot 
1666. His seven years' life in American wilds previous to Mar^ 
quette's discovery of the Mississippi river, was largely spent in 
exploring the interior. One of liis expeditions was made across the 
Iroquois country to the Ohio river, and down its channel as faras 
the falls at Louisville. As might be supposed, the actual discov- 
ery of the Mississippi stimulated La Salle's ambition to higher 
aims than ever. That it emptied into the Gulf of Mexico and 
not into the Pacific Ocean, was now his settled belief, and, peer- 
ing into the future, he foresaw with a penetrating eye the yet 
unmeasured volume of trade which would one day pour through 
the deltas of the Mississippi to the sea. There was enchantment 
in the thought that he should be the instrument by which this 
would be thrown into the lap of France, and to accomplish this 

He still held his tall form erect and defiant, with no sign or sound of pain ; and 
they tried another means to overcome him. They led out Lalemant, that Brebeui 
might see him tortured. They had tied strips of bark, smeared with pitch, aboui 
his naked body. When he saw the condition of his Superior, he could not hide 
his agitation, and called out to him, with a broken voice, in the words of Sair.t 
Paul, ' We are made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.' Then he 
threw himself at Brebeuf 's feet ; upon which the Iroquois seized him, made him 
fast to a stake, and set fire to the bark that enveloped him As the flame rose, he 
threw his arms upward, with a shriek of supplication to Heaven. Next they hung 
around Brebeuf 's neck a collar made of hatchets heated red hot ; but the indom- 
itable priest stood like a rock. A Huron in the crowd, who had been a convert of 
the mission, but was now an Iroquois by adoption, called out, with the malice of 
a renegade, to pour hot water on their heads, since they had poured so much cold 
water on those of others. The kettle was accordingly slung, and the water boilei! 
and poured slowly on the heads of the two missionaries. ' We baptize you,' they 
cried, 'that you may be happy in Heaven; for nobody can be saved without :i 
good baptism.' Brebeuf would not flinch ; and, in a rage, they cut strips of flesli 
from his limbs, and devoured them before his eyes. Other renegade Hurons call- 
ed out to him, 'You told us that the more one suffers on earth, the happier he is 
in Heaven. We wish tp make you happy ; we torment you because we love you ; 
and you ought to thank us for it.' After a succession of other revolting tortures, 
they scalped him ; when, seeing him nearly dead, they laid open his breast, and 
came in a crowd to drink the blood of so valiant an enemy, thinking to imbih< 
with it some portion of his courage. A chief then tore out his heart, and devoo/ 
ed it." 



First Vessel on the Lakes. 3T 

«nd became the idol of his imagination till death. Intent upon 
the fulfillment of these designs, he sailed for France in the autumn 
of 1674, the next year aiter the discovery of the Mississippi. 

Frontenac and La Saiie were on the most friendly terms, for 
tiiey were no rivals. La Salle did not envy him as governor, 
because he aimed at higher fame than could come from the vice- 
I'oy's chair of a province. Nor did Frontenac envy La Salle as 
^n explorer, especially as he felt an assurance that he should be 
a sharer in any honors growing out of his discoveries. He there- 
fore gave La Salle letters of the highest commendation to the 
court of France, which insured him a favorable hearing. Louis 
XIV., the king, gave him the order of knighthood and granted 
him a seigniory of land adjacent 1o Ft. Cataraiiqui. Eeturning 
to Canada, he rebuilt the fort with substantial walls of stone, 
within two years, and changed its name to Frontenac. The next 
step was to build a fort at the mouth of the Niagara river. By 
dint of great exertions and profuse presents to the Seneca tribe 
of the Iroquois Nation, he obtained reluctant permission to do 
this, and also to build a vessel above the falls of Niagara, with 
which to navigate the lakes. The fort having been finished, the 
vessel was next completed, and launched early in the spring ol 
1679. It was named the Grifiin, in honor of tlie family arms oi 
Frontenac. The immediate design of this vessel was to convey 
materials wherewith to build another vessel on the Illinois river, 
with which to navigate the Mississippi to its mouth. This mis- 
sion executed, the exploring party were to set sail for France, 
:after taking formal possession of the Mississippi valley in the 
name of the French king. 

Beyond these designs was another less practical one, which 
•contemplated a raid on the Spanish province of Mexico, at the 
liead of ten thousand Indians, for the purpose of reducing it to a 
French province. This latter madcap scheme of La Salle's must 
have had its origin in the inspirations of a forest life, which have 
often turned the brain of otherwise able-minded men into Utopi- 
an channels. 

Soon as the vessel was finished it was launched, and anchored 
in the stream as a measure of safety lest the Senecas might, in a 
fit of jealousy, set fire to it. On the 7th of August, everything 
was made ready. The sailors were at their posts, some at the 
capstan drawing her anchor, and others hoisting her canvas to the 
first breezes that ever wafted a vessel over Lake Erie. A can- 
iion was fired on the occasion, and the Grifiin gracefully moved 
away from the shore, tacking to the larboard and starboard alter- 
nately, in order to make headway up the Niagara river, to the 
astonishment of the Indians, who beheld the strange spectacle 
for the first time. Her crew numbered about thirty, all told, 



38 Arrival at the St. Joseph. 

among whom were Fathers Gabriel Membre and HennepiD^ 
Tonty having been sent in advtuie*' t<> MicliiliniHckinac. 
Tlie Griffin sailed up Lake Erie, up the Detroit river, and across 
Lake Huron to Michilimackinac. Stopping here a short tinie^ 
she became the marvel of the Lidians, who called her the mon- 
ster canoe. Next she proceeded to Green Bay, landing at art 
island there, where her cargo was unloaded. This consisted oi 
trinkets for Indian traffic in part, but its most valuable portion^ 
was the materials wherewith to build another vessel on the Illi- 
nois river, such as chains, bolts, cables, and a blacksmith's forge.. 
The Griffin was loaded with furs and sent back from whence she 
came, and her unloaded freight packed into small boats, to be- 
transported from thence to the Illinois river. For some cause,, 
not now known. La Salle had determined to make the trip by the 
way of the St. Joseph river, crossing the portage from its elbow 
near the present site of South Bend, to the head-waters of the 
Kankakee river, thence down stream till deep water on the Illi- 
nois was reached. With this intent, he started with seventeen 
men, with his small boats, along the western shore of Lake 
Michigan. The southern extremity of the lake had to be doub- 
led, and its eastern shore followed to the point of destination, 
the mouth of the St. Joseph. Tonty had been ordered to meet 
him at this place, with twenty Uicn, from Michilimackinac 
Wliile waiting for him, La Salle set his men at work to build a 
palisaded fort, and, for the lirst time, the sound of the axe and 
saw rung along those cone-shaped sand-hills which now teem 
with an annual burden of peaches for tlie Chicago market. Is i\ 
to be wondered that La Salle should be more favorably impress 
ed with the large and beautiful river of St. Joseph than the in 
significant stream at Chicago, whose mouth was almost closed 
with a sand-bar ? 

Tonty arrived at the appointed spot at the end of twenty days, 
when the order was given to advance. Two men were left in 
the lonesome fort, and the flotilla paddled up the tranquil waters 
of the St. Joseph to the carrying place, where the freight was^ 
unloaded, and with the boats, carried across the dividing ridge, 
by a devious path, to the head-waters of the Kankakee. Into 
this stream the boats were launched, and loaded again, for final 
transportation. 'Twas a strange sight, to behold a miniature 
army of resolute Frenchmen threading their course along the 
sluggish little stream, almost overlapped with water bushes. 
This sea of mud is seldom entered, even now, except on wild 
duck excursions ; and many an effeminate sportsman, who has 
been tempted from his luxurious parlors in the piesent Chicago,, 
to invade these bottomless swanijjs on such errands, has returned! 
with the ague. As La Salle passed along, the stream widened 



Arrival in the Illinois Country. 39 

and the surroundings improved, till he reached the great village 
of the Illinois, on the river which still bears their name. It was 
on New Year's day in 1680. All was silent, for the inhabitants 
— braves, squaws, pappooses, and dogs — had gone on their win- 
ter's hunt. La Salle was in need of provisions, and, impelled 
by necessity, took from their storehouses corn enough to feed 
his men, and kept on his course down the river. Arriving at the 
present site of Peoria, he met the returning Indians. A council 
was convened at once, in which La Salle made known the nature 
of his mission. First, he made satisfactoi-y apologies for having 
taken their corn, and paid them its value in goods. His next 
business was to get leave to build a fort and also a vessel for the 
navigation of the Mississippi. This liberty was easily obtained 
from the flexible Illinois tribes, whose jealousy had never been 
aroused against the French. Work on both was commenced. 
The palisaded fort was soon finished. The keel of the vessel 
was laid, and its ribs placed in position, when murmurs of discon- 
tent arose among the ship-carpenters, and a few of them desert- 
ed, in consequence of not being paid promptly. 

It is no marvel that these men should prefer the ease and im- 
munity from care, which the amenities of savage life offered them, 
rather than the service of the austere and exacting La Salle, with, 
to them, but a barren hope of pay, especially as they did not 
share his hopeful ambition. That La Salle did not make proper 
allowance for such contingencies, was one of the weak points 
that undermined his best-laid plans, and robbed him of that suc- 
cess, which his broad-gauge intellect and zeal deserved. These 
■first desertions were but a foretaste of that bitter cnp, which his 
overweening dash at the impracticable was preparing for him. We 
have such men among us now, and perhaps one in a thousand of 
them, by some eccentric turn of the wheel of fortune, achieves 
success, which example, like a contauion, seizes upon a thousand 
more, to lastly be victimized.* La Salle, whose nature forbade 

*Tonty, who was an eye witness to the whole, in his Life of La Salle, page 35, 
uses the following language on the desertion of the men : 

"Most of our men being discouraged by a long and tedious voyage, the end 
whereof they could not see, and weary of a wandering life in forests and deserts, 
where they had no other company but brutes and savages, without any guide, car- 
riage, and provisions, could not forbear murmuring against the auihor of so tire- 
some and perilous an enterprise. M. La Salle, whose penetration was extraordin- 
ary, discovered immediately their dissatisfaction, and tried all possible means to 
prevent the consequences thereof. The glory of the enterprise, the example of 
the Spaniards, the hopes of a great booty, and everything else that may engage 
men, we made use of to encourage them and inspire them with better sentiments ; 
but these exhortations, like oil poured upon fire, served only to increase their dis- 
satisfaction. What said they ? ' Must we always be slaves to his caprices, and be 
continually bubbled by his visions and foolish expectations ? and must the fatigues 
we have hitheito undergone be used as an argument to oblige ns to go through 
more perils, to gratify the ambition or folly of a merciless man ?' " 



40 Hennepin Sent to Explore the Upper Mississippi. 

him to look on but one side of a question, and that the front 
side, supphed the places of the deserters, by his wonderful faculty 
of bringing an extra stock of energy into service, and by these 
means continued work on the vessel. 

Of the four priests who comprised the party of adven- 
turers, Hennepin was the least in favor. Ever prone to 
intrude his advice unasked, or to attribute unlucky incidents 
to a neglect of his counsel, he became a bore, all the less 
endurable, because his sacred robes protected him from cen- 
sure.* He was ever pluming himself, on his self-sacrificing 
spirit and willingness to undertake any enterprise, however 
dangerous, providing it would advance the Christian cause among 
the heathen, and that his highest ambition was to die in such a 
service. There was no lack of priests in the fort, and La Sallo 
conceived the thought of taking Hennepin at his word, by send- 
ing him on an expedition to explore the head-waters of the Mis- 
sissippi. The astonished priest accepted the mission, but with a 
bad grace, and started in an open canoe with two attendants, on 
the last day of February, his brother priests uniting with La 
Salle in lavishing upon him words of consolation, as he left the fort 
to push his way among new and unheard-of tribes of savages, 
in an equally unknown land. And here we will leave La Salle, 
to follow the fortunes of Hennepin and his two companions, 
Accau and Du Gay. They were provided with an ample store 
of goods, to be used as presents to the different tribes they might 
encounter on their way ; besides which, were provisions, guns 
and ammunition. They glided down the Illinois river to its con- 
fluence with the Mississippi, and plied their oars up the stream, 
in obedience to orders. Game was abundant, and they fared 
well till the 12th of April, when, stopping on shore to roast a 
wild turkey for dinner, they beheld with consternation a war- 
party of 120 naked savages, breaking the solemn silence of the 
uninhabited place, with the noisy whooping of Indians on the 
war-path. The little party were immediately taken captive, de- 
spite the ceremonials of the calumet, or the inevitable tobacco 
accompanying it. 

They were a band of Sioux, intending to make war on the 
Miamis, in revenge for some old scores ; but the raiders were 
turned from their purpose, when Hennepin informed them, by 
signs, that the Miamis were away from home on a hunting ex- 
cursion. The next business to be settled was the fate of the 
three French captives. A,s to the question whether thej' should 
be killed, or treated with hospitalit}', there was at first, a division 
of opinion. Had the chivalrous La Salle been among the French 

* This analysis of his character is drawn from Parkman, who has exposed the 
frailties of Hennepin unsparingly. 



Captivity of Hennepin. 41 

party, his impressive dignity would have insured the utmost cour- 
tesy toward themselves ; but Hennepin was overcome with ter- 
ror, and the haughty Sioux could have but little respect for him. 
After a hasty council, however, they concluded to spare the lives 
of the captives, in order to encourage more Frenchmen to come 
among them, with the much-coveted trinkets, of which it was 
known they had an abundance. But this decision was not made 
known to the captives. On the contrary, Hennepin was inform- 
ed by signs, amid a din of wailings, that his head was to be split 
with a war-club. This unwelcome news drew forth from him 
some presents, which at least had the effect to postpone the exe- 
cution of such a cruel purpose. 

The Indians now concluded to return to their home among the 
little lakes at the upper Mississippi, and take the captives with 
them ; but they kept up the practice of their villainous tricks to 
extort goods from Hennepin, till nearly his whole store was ex- 
hausted. Pending these griefs, Hennepin sought consolation in 
reading his morning devotion from his breviary ; but this solace 
was a fresh source of danger, for the devotional murmurings of 
his voice were interpreted by the Indians, as a piece of sorcery, 
which might bring retribution upon themselves. Hennepin, ob- 
serving this, chanted the words in a clear, musical voice, which 
amused instead of terrified his hearers, and satisfied his own 
■conscience. The party arriving at the vicinity of St. Paul, the 
boats were concealed in a thicket, and they started on foot across 
the country to their respective lodges. 

'Twas early in May, but remnants of ice still clung around the 
shaded margins of river, lake and marsh, imparting an icy chill 
to the waters through which the travelers passed, sometimes 
shallow, and sometimes deep enough to swim them. Between 
these low savannas, long stretches of high prairie had to be tra- 
versed, over which the naked-limbed Indian skimmed along with 
nimble step, but the poor priest, shackled by his long robes, 
lagged behind in spite of his utmost exertion. Seeing tins, the 
Indians, always fertile in expedients, took hold of his hands, one 
on each side, and pulled him along at a rapid pace, while they 
set fire to the dry prairie grass behind him, to act as an extra 
incentive to speed. 

Five days of this exhaustive travel brought them to the Indian 
town in the region of Mille Lac. Here the captives were adopt- 
ed, each by a different chief, and consequently separated from 
each other. Hennepin was taken by Aquipaguetin, the head 
chief of the party and his most persistent persecuter on the way. 
His home was on an island in Lake Mille Lac, where five wives 
and a due proportion of children paid savage courtesies to their 
lord and master. Hennepin was well received. A sweating 



42 Life Among the Sioux. 

"bath was given him, and his mutilated feet rubbed with wildcat's 
oil, under an impression that, by this process, the agility of that 
animal might be measurably imparted to the patient. He was 
fed on a short allowance of wild rice and dried whortleberries, 
of which the Indians had laid in no over-stock for winter's use; 
but all shared alike, except sometimes a little preference shown 
by the squaws for their own children. 

Ouasicoudie was the highest in rank, as chief of the Sioux of 
this region, and he had no sooner learned of the arrival of the 
three French captives, and the dastardly tricks by which Henne- 
pin had been robbed, than he berated Aquipaguetin severely, for 
he had been the instigator of those villainous devices, which the 
high-minded Sioux discarded as a nation. 

As the weary days wore along, the supply of food diminished 
and hunger began to warn these improvident children of nature, 
that something must be done to appease it. For this purpose, a 
buffalo hunt was determined on in early summer, and Hennepin 
was promised that he might accompany them. This was good 
news to him, as it gave promise of a plentiful supply of food ; 
but inasmuch as he was to accompany the grim father of his 
adoption, Aquipaguetin, he feared that fresh abuses were in store 
for him, when away from the influences of Ouasicoudie. To 
avert this new danger, the reverend father told the Indians, that 
a party of Frenchmen were to meet him, at the mouth of the Wis- 
consin river, in the summer, with a stock of goods."" 

The time came for starting on the proposed buffalo hunt, and 
the 250 braves, with their squaws and children, and boats enough 
to carry them were promptly on the spot. Accau and Du Gay 
had a boat of their own, a present from the Indians, into whose 
good graces they had grown since their captivity. But poor 
Hennepin was no favorite. Boat after boat passed the forsaken 
priest, as he stood on the river bank begging a passage. Even 
the two Frenchmen refused to take bim in ; and but for the con- 
descension of one of the crew in the rear, the missionary would 
have been left alone, in those distant and savage realms of the 
wilderness. Arriving at the mouth of Rum river, they all en- 
camped on the bank of the Mississippi. Very short rations of 
dried buflalo meat was their fare, except what unripe berries 
could be gleaned from the uncultivated face of nature, which was 

* Hennepin affirms that La Salle had promised this to him when he left Ft. 
Creve-Coeur ; but the truth of this assertion may well be questioned, especially 
since Hennepin's veracity has been tarnished by the mendacious book of travels 
which he published on his return to France. In this book he claimed to have 
explored the Mississippi to its mouth. It had a large sale, and won for him a rep- 
■IMion which was as short-lived as his motive in writing it was contemptible, inas- 
snuch as his aim was to rob the true explorers of the lower Mississippi of the hon- 
«% due to them alone. 



Arrival of Du Lhut. 45 

spread out in appalling amplitude around them. Hennepin, as 
might be supposed, was disgusted with Indian life, and so was- 
Du Gay, The two, there tbr§, obtained permission of Ouasir 
coudie, who had always been their friend, to leave the encamp- 
ment, and go and meet the expected frenchmen at the mouth of 
the Wisconsin river. Meantime, Accau's highest ambition was 
to remain with his savage associates.* 

Equipped with a birchen canoe, a knife, a gun, and an earthen 
pot of Sioux manufacture, in which to boil meat, the Fatlier and 
Da Gay, his companion, started down the river. They arrived 
at the falls on St. Anthony's day, and Hennepin, in honor of the' 
Saint, gave them his name, which they still retain. Thence they 
made their way down the river by slow stages, for they were- 
obliged to resort, in part, to turtles and fish for subsistence, inas- 
much as their stock of ammunition was getting short ; and to- 
capture these in sufficient quantities to appease hunger caused 
•aiuch detention. While the travelers were urging their way 
toward the Wisconsin — of course, with the intention of ultimately 
reaching Canada — they were disagreeably surprised to see Aqui- 
paguetin, with ten warriors, coming down the river. Hennepin 
feared the worst, but no harm was offered him. The chief was 
on his way to meet the French at the mouth of the Wisconsin, 
for purposes of traffic, and, after a brief salutation, swept past 
the Frenchmen. In three days he returned, having found nc 
French traders there. Approaching Hennepin, he gave him a. 
severe scolding, and passed along up the river, to the great relief 
of the terrified Father. The travelers had now but ten charges- 
of powder left, which was too small a supply to last them on so- 
long a trip as the route to Canada. In this emergency, they 
determined to again join the Sioux hunters, who were now en- 
camped on the Chippewa river, an affluent of Lake Pepin, not 
far distant. They soon found them, and, happily for the wan- 
derers, in a good humor, for they had been unusually successful 
in killing buffalo. 

Exciting news was soon brought to their encampment by two 
old squaws. A war party of Sioux had met five white men 
coming into their country from Lake Superior, by the way of the 
St. Croix river. Much curiosity was manifested by Hennepin, to- 
know who the white explorers were. The hunt was over, and 
as the Indians were to return at once, their curiosity was soon to- 
be gratified, for Hennepin and his companion were to return with 
them. On arriving at the present site of St. Paul, the expected 
visitors were met, and they proved to be no other than the- 

* Since Accau had declared his resolution to remain with the Sioux, Du Gay had 
made ample apologies to Hennepin for having refused him a place in his boat oa 
slatting from Mille Lac, and they were now restored to good fellowship again. 



44 La Salle Starts for' Canada. 

famous explorer, Daniel Greysolon Du Lhut, with four compan- 
■ioiis. This master-spirit of the forest had been two years among 
the far-off lodges of the Sioux, and other tribes to the north, ex- 
ploring, like La Salle, under the patronage of Frontenac. 

Having learned that three white men were in the country, he 
came to meet them, with a determination to drive them away, if 
diey were of any other nationaUty but French. The command- 
ing presence of Du Lhut, not surpassed even by La Salle, won 
the utmost respect from the Sioux at once. The whole party 
returned north to the region of Mille Lac, and a grand feast of 
honor was spread for the distinguished guests. 

As autumn approached, the Frenchmen made preparations to 
return to Canada, to which the Sioux interposed no objections, 
.assured, as they were, by Du Lhut, that they would soon return 
with goods for traffic. 

Accau, by this time sated with the society of his late associates, 
was willing to join Du Lhut, and the whole party, eight in all, 
started for Canada, by the way of the Wisconsin river. 

The travels of DuLhut and the captivity of Hennepin had made 
known to the French the general features of the upper Missis- 
sippi, but the outlet of this stream was still a mystery. It had 
been one hundred and thirty-seven years since the miserable 
a*emnant of De Soto's Spanish adventurers had fled down its cur- 
Tent in hot haste, closely pursued by the exasperated natives of 
the country, whom they had plundered, and little or nothing had 
been given to the world respecting its physical aspect. La Salle 
was the destined one to bring to light this majestic chasm, which 
'Opened through the heart of a continent. 

Let us now return to Ft. Creve-Cceur, and follow the invinci- 
ble explorer through the thorny path which still intervened be- 
tween him and his destination. Even before Hennepin had 
started from Ft. Crev6-Co3ur, he had felt the positive necessity of a 
fresh supply of men to fill the places of the deserters ; for his 
force was now too small to even continue work on the vessel. 
The fort was now finished, and its name, Creve-Coeur ("broken 
heart"), sufficiently symbolized the failnre of all his plans thus 
far, but was no index to his unconquerable resolution. Spring 
was now opening, with its discomforture of mud and swollen 
streams; but, regardless of these obstacles, he formed the reso- 
lution to start for Canada, to obtain the necessary recruits. Hen- 
nepin had no sooner left the fort than La Salle made preparations 
for his departure. On the 2d of March everything- was in readi- 
ness. Five companions were selected to accompany him, one of 
whom was Nika, a faithful Indian servant, whose skill as a hunter 
and knowledge of woodcraft was indispensable to the safety of 
'±he party. 



The Wilderness JUarch. 45 

Tliey commenced their journey in a canoe, and packing into it 
a slender outfit of blankets, guns, and the inevitable bag of hom- 
iny, they tugged up the Illinois' river till the mouth ot the Kan- 
kakee was reached. Up this stream they plied their oars till 
they came about to the present site of Joliet. Here the ice of 
winter was still unbroken, and the canoe had to be abandoned. 
Blankets, guns and other luggage, were now packed on their 
shoulders, and they took up their jnarch through the oozy savan- 
nas, which intervened between them and Ft. Miamis, at the 
mouth of tlie St. Joseph river, which was tlie first point to be- 
reached. Taking their course to the northeast, according to 
their best knowledge of locality, after a few days of toilsome 
travel, and as many nights of cold comfort on the damp grountl, 
they were gladdened by the sight ot Lake Michigan. The point 
at which they struck it was but a few miles south of Chicago^ 
near the mouth of the Calumet.* Following the shore of the 
lake, around its southern extremity, on the 24th they arrived at 
the fort, where its lonesome garrison of two men still stood sen- 
tinels of the forest, like hermits, cut off from all communication 
with the world. 

When La Salle had sent his vessel back down the lakes from 
Green Bay, loaded with furs, he gave orders to have her return 
to Ft. Miamis for a second trip ; and, notwithstanding no tidings . 
had reached him of the vessel since her departure, he had not 
entirely relinquished all hopes that she had arrived at this place, 
in obedience to his orders, and that he might 3'et recruit his ex- 
hausted finances from the sale of her cargo ; but these hopes 
were not realized — neither the vessel nor an}' news of her was 
here.f The Griffin never had been heard from since she left 
Green Bay ; no doubt could now be entertained, that she had 
been lost during the heavy gales that prevailed soon after she 
set sail on the great wilderness of waves that the lakes then were, 
without a lighthouse or a chart, to guide the pioneer bark along 
the unknown shore. Without taking time to rest, La Salle, with 
his party, again plunged into the leafiess forests, striking their 
course toward the western extremity of Lake Erie. It was an 
unknown country. With no other guide but a pocket compass, 
the travelers pushed through thickets and swamps, weighted 
down with camping equipments and guns. After a few days' 
travel, they found themselves pursued by a band of Indians sup- 
posed to be Iroquois. For several days their footsteps were 
dogged, and all attempts to elude their pursuit were unavailing. 

* Parkman's Discovery of the Great West, p. 178. 

•|- In obedience to orders from La Salle, the two men at the fort had made a tour 
around the northern shore of the lake, to get news from the Griffin, but nothing, 
could be learned of her fate. 



-46 Arrival in Canada. 

The leaf-strewn ground was set on fire, but the wilv enemy fol- 
lowed their tracks like bloodhounds. Lest thej might come up- 
on them in the night, no camp-tires were made. The cold supper 
of dried meat was eaten in silence, each wrapped himself in 
his blankets, and laid down to sleep, knowing that an enemy was 
near, thirsting for their blood. Thus they proceeded on their way 
till the second of April, on which night the cold was too severe 
to bear, and a tire was kindled to thaw their clothes, which \vere 
stiffened with ice. No sooner than the light was descried, their 
pursuers came upon them with terrific yells ; but, happily for 
La Salle's party, a deep stream intervened between his camp 
and the hostile party. La Salle boldly advanced to its banks to 
get a sight at the enemy, when a parley ensued, which resulted 
in ascertaining them to be a band of Mascoutins, and not Iro- 
quois, as at first supposed. The mistake was mutual, as the 
Mascoutins also supposed La Salle's party to be a band of Iro- 
quois, to meet whom was the signal for a fight. This danger 
averted, they continued their journey till the Detroit river was 
reached. Two of his men were sent from this place to Michili- 
mackinac; and with the remaining two, among whom was Nika, 
he crossed the Detroit river on a raft, and bent his course toward 
:the north shore of Lake Erie ; reachiiig which place, a canoe 
was made, and the travelers started for Ft. Niagara, coasting the 
morthern shore of the lake. 

It was past the middle of April when they arrived. The hard- 
ships of the journey had told fearfully upon his men. Two of 
them had become unfit for active duty before the Detroit was 
reached ; and now the other two, one of whom was the hardy 
Nika, were unable to proceed farther, while La Salle himself 
was in the flush of strength and vigor — a striking proof of the 
power of a great mind over the body. Here news of fresh dis- 
asters greeted him again. A vessel laden with stores for him, 
from France, was wrecked on entering the St. Lawrence river; 
but this was not all. His envious enemies in Canada had circu- 
lated various evil reports about him, and not only estranged 
some of his friends, but had induced a new recruit of men from 
France, destined for his service, to desert him. Never before had 
such a combination of disasters overtaken him. The very ele- 
ments seemed to have consjMred to destroy what the treachery 
of his supposed friends could not. In this extremity, he select- 
ed three fresh men from Ft. Niagara, and started for Montreal. 
On the 6th of May, he arrived at Ft. Frontenac, on his way, 
which was the spot where his knighthood had been endowed 
with a seigniory of land. Here he might have become the 
wealthiest man in Canada, could he have contented himself to 
parcel out these lands to the peasantry of Canada, and receive 
-rents from them, like other noblemen. But these honors would 



The Deserters. 47 

have been stale and insipid to tlie lii2:h-minded explorer, whose 
niind ran on the destinies of New France. When he reached 
Montreal, his diojnitied bearing was a matter of astonishment to 
his enemies, and was not long in restoring the confidence of his 
friends. The grandeur of his still unshaken resolution was con- 
sistent with the even grander schemes in which he had enlisted 
for life ; and, in less than a week after his arrival, both men and 
money were placed at his disposal, to renew his plans. Active 
preparations were now made for his departure to the Illinois 
country with his new recruits ; but before these were completed, 
he received bad news from Ft. Creve-Coeiir, by messengers sent 
from Tonty. The fort had been ])liuidei'ed and entirely destroy- 
ed by its own garrison, all having joined in the infamous work 
except Tonty and four or five others of his companions, who 
were still true to La Salle's interest. 

The renegades took the advantage of a brief absence of Tontv 
to accomplish the work ; and, ere his return, the}' had robbed 
the place of everything of value which could be carried away, 
and threw into the river what they could not steal. Next, they 
went to Ft. Miamis and committed similar depredations, and 
closed their career of robbery at Michilimackinac, by steahng a 
quantity of furs at that place, which belonged to La Salle. 
Soon after this unwelcome news came, two other messengers 
arrived, and informed La Salle that the robbers, numbering 
twelve men, in three gangs, were now on their way to Ft. Fron- 
tenac, with the intention of killing him at sight. Selecting nine 
of his bravest men, he now resolved to waylay them ere their 
arrival. In this he was successful, and soon returned to Ft. Fron- 
tenac with the whole party as prisoners, except two who had 
been killed in the encounter. 

It was now of the utmost importance that he should make all 
haste to the Illinois country, to relieve Tonty of the perils which 
environed him. On the lUth of August everything was made 
ready, and he embarked from Ft. Frontenac with his new com- 
mand, numbering twenty-five men. He chose his route by the 
way of Lake Simcoe and along the shores of Georgian Bay to 
Michilimackinac. From this place he started in advance, with 
tweb-'e men, and left the rest to transport the heavy materials, 
under command of La Forest. Coasting along the east shore of 
Lake Michigan, he soon came to the St. Joseph, and, as he ex- 
pected, found Ft. Miamis in ruins. Leaving five of his men 
here to rebuild the fort and await the approach of La Forest, he 
pushed on by the same route he had traveled before, through the 
perplexing mazes of the Kankakee, in its mud bound circlings. 
No signs of human lite were seen; but when the Illinois 
river was reached, herds of buflfalo made their appearance, 
and the scene was changed. Hurrying along in painful 



48 Iroquuls Invasion of the lllinoiis Country. 

suspeuse, the site of the once familiar Indian town was- 
reached ; but instead of a wild, tumultuous scene of Indians 
dancing grotesque tigures or grouped around in lazy dalliance, a 
ghastly spectacle cf human skulls projecting from the ramparts 
of the ruined fort greeted his eyes. The Iroquois had been 
there and swept away every sign of life, not even respecting the 
tombs of the dead ; for these had been desecrated, and masses 
of fetid liesh and disjiunted bones lay scattered over the green. 

This crushing disaster had tallen upon La Salle when hope 
was reviving of a speedy accomplishment of his plans. Search- 
ing among the slain, all the while fearing he should lind Tonty 
and his three or four faithful comrades, a painful sense of his for- 
lorn situation came over him ; but he was calm, and betrayed no 
signs of despair. A night of horrors succeeded, in which sleep 
was impossible. Gangs of wolves, quarreling over the spoils of 
battle-field, fell upon their ears, as they listened in silence for 
the war-Nvhoop of the triumphant foe. The next morning, La 
Salle, W'itli four of his men, followed the path of the ttigitives 
and their pursuers down the river, to see if any tidings could be 
heard of Tonty. He kept on till he arrived at the mouth of the 
river, and here for the first time beheld the majestic Father of 
Waters, whose accumulated fioods were gathered from the tiir- 
off realms of Nature's unoccupied domain, still slumbering in 
secret recluses. Neither Tonty nor any signs of life could be 
found, and he returned to the spot where he had left his three 
companions. From here, the whole party, after loading them- 
selves with half-burnt corn, which the destroyers had set tire to, 
started for Ft. Miamis on the St. Joseph river, arriving at the 
place in January, lOSl. Here he found his command, who, 
according to his orders, had followed on with the baggage, after 
he had left Michilimackinac, a few weeks before, in such haste, 
to relieve Tonty. 

All his plans had miscarried ; here were his men huddled to- 
gother within the scanty limits of Ft. Miamis, but his base of 
operations on the Illinois river had been swept away like chaflp 
before a whirlwind, and not a solitary representative of his allies 
the Illinois remained in their native land, and his work was to 
begin anew. His resolution was taken at once. A strong league 
of all the western tribes must be formed, for defensive purposes, 
against the Iroquois, before he dared to push his explorations 
down the Mississippi ; and, indeed, it was all-important that the 
French should show themselves able to defend those western 
tribes, as a preliminary step toward getting possession of their 
country, or, rathei-, gaining a foothold in it. 

The late Iroquois invasion of the Illinois country, of which La 
Salle had just witnessed the ravages, was not a mere ebulhtiou of 
savage frenzy, but the result of a public policy quite as exousa- 



Jlcclinc/ of La Salle and Tonty. 40 

ble as the ordiiuiry wars of civilized nations. The fur trade was 
the hirgest interest, at that time, throughout the entire country, 
and sliarp rivah-}- in this branch of commerce had always existed 
between the Dutch settlements on the Hudson river, and the 
Canadian French. Actinir in harmonv with the Dutch, the Iro- 
qnois them.selves had become factors of this branch of industry, 
and reaped quite a revenue by buying furs of the western tribes, 
and selling them to the Dutch. It was therefore, adverse to their 
interest to liave the French among the Illinois, inasmuch as it ii:ave 
not only the entire Illinois' trade to them, but threatened to turn 
the trade with the tribes to the east away from themselves into 
French hands. A similar rivalry exists this day between Chica- 
go and Canadian cities as to who shall command the most trade. 
But the matter is settled by national comity, in the shape of 
reciprocity treaties, instead of a resort to the sword. 

La Salle with his men remained at Ft. Miamis till March, when 
the severitv of winter luid abated, and he could again venture 
into the forest haunts of the Indians to execute liis plans. The 
Illinois tribes had returned to their ancient villages, shiarting 
under their late humiliation, and the occasion was favorable for 
La Salle's plan, to unite them with the Miamis and other western 
tribes, for the purpose of repell in <i' Iroquois invasion. He there- 
fore convened a council of the ditterent tribes, and soon persuad- 
ed them to forget their former causes for resentment, and unite 
under his standard and make common cause against the common 
enemy of both the French and die western tribes. I>y this pol- 
itic diplomacy, La Salle had turned the late Iroquois victory 
over the Illinois to his own account, and opened the way for ye- 
suming his grand adventure; but before anything farther could 
be done, it was necessary to return to Canada, and acquaint his 
friends with the new situation. 

The "-enial influences of Mav had made the canoe naviuation 
ot the lake secure, and he started at once ah^ng the east shore to 
reach Canada by the same route he had last come. Arriv- 
ing at Michilimackinac. his cup of joy was brimming over, for 
Tonty had also just arrived there fi'om Green Bay, at which place 
he had been ice-bound for the wintei*, as La Salle himself had 
been at Ft. Miamis on the St. Joseph. The two distinguished 
explorers were necessary to each other, and their joy was mutual. 

When the Iroquois^ army came upon the Illinois village, Tonty 
was amon;;^ them with Father Membre ; and, rightly judging that 
his allies would be defeated by their haughty invaders, he deter- 
mined to try the arts of diplomacy to ward off, if possible, the 
impending blv)w. Both arrnies were drawn up in order of battle 
on the open prairie in front of the village, and the usual prelude 
to an Indian tight, such as horrible yellings and defiant war- 
whoops, were in fall tide, when Tonty, with a heroism seldom 



50 Rendezvom at Ft. Miamis. 

i 

witnessed, advanced from the ranks of his Illinois friends toward 
the Iroquois, bearing a flag of truce. The astonished invaders 
received liiui into their councils, and, for a time, their skirmisii- 
ing, which had already hegun, ceased. The Iroquois were unde- 
cided in opinion whether he should be instantly tomahawked or 
let go, and one chief thrust his spear into his side, inflicting *- 
painful wound — perhaps to experiment on his mettle. Tontj 
bore it with the immobility of a subject for the dissecting-room, 
which had the effect to elevate him vastly in the estimation or 
the Irjquois, and they let him go, but were not to be turned 
from their pur})ose; and they attacked the Illinois and drove 
them from their homes — seized a large number of their squaws, 
whom they led to their far-off lodges in the present State of 
New York] there to become their supernumerary wives. 

After Tonty's efforts to bring about a reconciliation between 
the two contending armies had failed, he withdrew, and, with 
Menibre, made the best of his way to the mission of St. Francis 
Xavier. at Green Bay. 

The .following summer was employed by La Salle in his trip 
to Canada and return to his place of rendezvous at Ft. Miamis. 
All that he had ho]>cd for in the way of pre]>aration for his third 
iittempt had been accomplished to his satisfaction, and nothing 
remained but to start on the enterprise, l^esides the twenty- 
three Fienchmen in his command, eighteen Indians were taken 
into his service, ten of whom chose to take their squaws with 
them, to do camp duty.* Father Membre accompanied the ex- 
pedition, and has given its history, which begins as follows : 

. "On the 21st of December I embarked, with the Sieur de 
Tonty and a part of our people, on Lake Dauphin (Michigan), to 
go toward the divine river called by the Indians Checaugou, in 
order to make necessary arrangements for our voyage. The 
Sieur de La Salle joined us thei-e with the rest of his troop, on 
the 4th of January, 1682, and found that Tonty had had slieghs 
made, to put all on and carry it, when the Checaugou was frozen 
over." 

The exact words of Father Membre have been quoted to show 
the antiquity of the name Chicago, which the father spelled Che- 
caugou. 

The whole party began their journey, it appears, with sleighs 
drawn by the men, on the icy faces of the Chicago, Desplaines, 
and Illinois rivers, till open water was reached at Peoria lake. 
Here the canoes were unloaded from the sleighs and launched in 
the Illinois river. The camping utensils were stowed away, the 



* These Indians were fugitives from New England, who, having been conquered 
1 Ivinj Philip's war, had found an asylum in the far West. 



La Salle at the M"nt!t of the Mississip2>'^- 51 

four Indian babies wlio accoinpauiiHl theiri slung away in some 
nook wliere they would be least in tlio way, and the liotilla moved 
along on its way, propelled by strong arms assisted by the cur- 
rent. 

The old site of Ft. Oreve-Coeur and the amateur ship-yard 
near by it, was soon passed, as they skimmed down the whirling 
current, and the view was quickly lost to sight, if not the pain- 
ful remembi'ances which must have been recalled to La Salle and 
T<»nt.v.* When night came, the whole })arty moored their boats 
on the bank of the river, pitched their tents, slung their kettles 
on tripods, and built their fires. After a supper of boiled hom- 
iny and dried beef, they prostrated their weary forms on the 
ground for the night. This was the daily routine till the mouth 
of the Mississippi was reached, although it was varied with in- 
tercourse with different tribes of Indians on their way, among 
whom such improvements as adobe houses, earthan plates, and 
domestic fowls were found. f 

It was on the 0th of April that they arrived at the low and 
grassy margin of the Gulf of Mexico, upon those attenuated 
points of spongy soil scarcely deserving the name of banks. 
Far in the rear, upon the treeless banks of the river, the dry 
grasses of April rasped their dry blades together with a din of 
buzzing before the wind. The gulf rolled in her heavy swells 
against the unceasing torrent of the river, which met like two 
Opposing forces of nature; and here, amid these desolations, the 
party landed and erected the inevitable cross. Beside it, the 
arms of F'rauce, engraved on a leaden plate, was buried. A 
solemn service of prayer and singing was then performed, and, 
with impressive forms, ])ossession was taken of tlie whole valley 
of the Mississippi and named Louisiana, in honor of Louis XIV., 
king of France. 

The whole party now started on the return, tugging against 
the scalloping currents of the river, which tossed their light boats 
like vessels in a storm. Far away to the right and left, the dis- 
tant forests pushed their hoary tops into the horizon, walling in 
the lonely passage to the sea of the gathered waters of half a conti 
nent. This immense valley was now a French province, by vir- 
tue of the wooden cross just erected, around which the amphib- 
ious mcmsters of the gulf were to gambol in security as soon as 
the adventurers were out of sight. 

♦The original plan of building a vessel to navigate the Mississippi had been 
abandoned for the more practical canoe of that early age. 

f These were seen below the Arkansas. 



CHAPTER III. 

La SaJle Betui'ns to the Illinois Country — Ft. St. Louis Built 
— La Salle leaves Tonty in Command of Ft. St. Loulf, and 
Starts for France — Tonty Unjustly Superseded in Command 
by La Harre, the JVew Governor of Canada — Za Salle at 
the Court of Louis XIV. — La Bar re liecalled — Tonty lie- 
stored to Coinmand — La Salle furnished with a Fleet to Sail 
for the Mouth of the JIississij)j)i and Fstahlish a Colony — 
The Fleet I\isses its Destination^ and Lands on the Coast if 
Texas — Ireachcry of Beavjeu — La Salle Builds a l^ort — ///n- 
Vessels Lost — Desperate Condition of the Colony — La Salle 
starts Across the Wilds for the Illinois Country — lie is As- 
sassinated on the Way — The Murderers fall upon each othtr 
— Beturn of Cavelier and His Party — Tonty'' s Fort on the 
Arkansas — Mendacious Concealment of La Sailers Death — 
Iberville and Bienville make a Settlement at the Mouth of 
Mississippi — Analysis of the English Colonics. 

La Salle's exploration of the Misi^issippi was the work of a 
master mind ; but, for the present, it was an iinwiehly acquisi- 
tion to the complicated as well as overburdened executive capa- 
bilities of the Canadian government. 

Had La Salle's means been sufficient, he would have immedi- 
ately established a fort at the mouth of the river, as a depot for 
receiving and shipping buti'alo hides and furs, from the inex- 
haustible sources of supply for these valuable goods, in the lim- 
itless wikls drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries. But 
his labors thus far had not only exiiaiisted his own means in ex- 
ploration, but had drawn largely upon the resources of his friends, 
as well as leaving him in debt even to the men who had perform- 
ed the drudgery of the camp. 

On his passage up the Mississippi, he had been seized with a 
violent attack of fever, and was unable to pursue his jourmy, 
with the comfortless accommodations afi'orded by their canoes; 
but, fortunately for him, a fort had been built at the Chickasaw 
blutfs, on their passage down," and his strength barely held out 

* Fort Prudhomme. On their passage down the river, a landing was made here 
for the purpose of hunting. While thus engaged, Father Prudhomme was lost in 
the woods, and, while searching for him, a fort was built and named for him. He 
was found after two days' search, in a state of great exhaustion. 



Ft. St. Louis Built in the Illinois Country. 53 

till tlieir arrival at this place. Here he remained till he was 
able to resume his journey, attended by feather Membre. Mean- 
tiirie, Tontv hastened forward to the Illinois country with the 
men, for it was all-important that a nucleus of French power 
should be established here, in order to utilize the late discove- 
ries. 

This was no easy task to accomplish, especially from the un- 
tempered materials out of which it was to be improvised ; but 
La Salle, who never looked upon any obstacle in his way as in- 
surmountable, went to work with his accustomed resolution, as 
«0()n as he was able again to take the field. The yellow tints ol' 
tiutumn had begun to imprint their stamp upon the forests when 
he and Tonty had commenced building Ft. St. Louis at Starved 
Rock, where the western tribes might gather around the lilies of 
France, with an assurance of protection.* 

This work completed, La Salle intended to sail for France, as 
soon as he could arrive at Quebec, the starting point. 

At this juncture, rumors of an Iroquois invasion of the lUi- 
Jiois country came to hand, and postponed his anticipated visit 
to the French court; for to desert his Illinois allies in this hour 
of danger, would be a forfeiture of French interests on the prai- 
;ries, as well as a relinquishment of his plans for a French colony 
at the mouth of the Mississippi. 

A large number of Indians, composed of several western 
tiibes besides the Illinois, were now tenanted along the Illinois 
.river adjacent to the fort, who, with the aid of a small number 
•of Frenchmen, would be able to repel any Iroquois invasion 
likely to be sent against them. But to hold these capricious 
wanderers to the French interest, a stock of goods for barter 
with them, and a few Frenchmen to do military duty, were ne- 
cessarv. These must come from Canada. Had Frontenac still 
been Governor, all would have been well ; but this able man 
had been removed through the machinations of some of the jar- 
ring interests of the province, and La Barre put in his place. 
He was no friend to La Salle, and instead of reinforcing him 
•with the necessary men for service in the Illinois country, he 
detained those in Canada designed for that ]')Ost, and withheld 
all supplies from him. La Salle had now no other recourse left, 
but to remain at his post in the Illinois country during the win- 
ter, ruminating in his fertile brain on future plans, whereby he 
could bring to the knowledge of the French king an appreciative 
sense of the magnitude of his discoveries. The next summer 
was nearly spent in the same painful uncertainty amidst the ser- 
'vile tribes of the prairies, whose lack of courage to protect them- 

* This spot was chosen as a place of great natural strength, where a few French- 
vncn couUl hold a nation of savages at Lay. 



54 La Salle Arrives in Paris. 

selves contrasted unfavorably with the prowess of the conquer- 
ing Iroquois. 

Autumn was approaching — the expected invasion of these 
champions of the forest had not come — and La Salle determined 
to start for France. On his way to Quebec, he met an officer 
going to the Illinois countr}', with a commission from La Barre, 
the governor of Canada, to take possession of Ft. St. Louis, tlie 
citadel of the rook tower, which was then the key to the inte- 
rior. Tonty had first built this foit, and, by virtue of La Salle's- 
authority, now held command of it; and though he alone wa& 
better qualified to command it than any other one except 
La Salle, yet he peaceably conformed to the authority of La 
Barre, and took a subordinate position under Baugis, the late 
appointee of La Barre. 

The following March, the expected Iroquois came and besieg- 
ed the place for six days. The fort held out, and the discomtit- 
ted invaders, for once balked of their expected victory, retreated.. 

La Salle was now in Paris. La Barre' s villainous aspersions 
had preceded him, in the vain attempt to undervalue his discov- 
eries and wrest from him what little authority yet remained in 
his hands as commander of Ft. Frontenac and almoner of seign- 
iorial rights of the lands of the Illinois country.*" This was- 
more than calumny could accomplish. Sixteen years of toil and 
disappointment, of hope deferred, crowned at last with a success^ 
only waiting recognition, had moulded lines of irresistible advo- 
cacy into the weather-beaten face of La Salle. He no sooner 
gained a hearing at the court of Versailles than the reports of 
his enemies recoiled upon themselves. La Barre was recalled, 
Denonville was made governor of Canada, and the commands 
of Ft. St. Louis restored to Tonty, the incarnation of courage 
and fidelity, and the only one now worthy of holding it. 

La Salle, now fully restored to the confidence of the Frencli- 
court, was furnished with a fleet of four vessels to fulfill the cher- 
ished project of his ambition — the establishment of a French col- 
ony at the mouth of the Mississippi. The fleet sailed from Ro- 
chelle on the 24th of July, 1684, with 280 adventurers who en- 
listed in the service as emigrants, to form a colony in the wilds- 
of America. Among them were artisans of various trades and 
a few young women. Several priests also accompanied tlie ex- 
pedition, among whom was Cavelier, the brother of La Salle, 

♦ La Salle's patent of nobility had invested him wilh authority to parcel out the 
lands around Ft. St. Louis to French settlers, who would marry natives and settle- 
on the land. I'his was done to encourage permanent colonization, but the recipi- 
ents of these emoluments abused their privileges by marrying new wives as often- 
as their whimsical propensities or their interests demanded, greatly to the disgust 
of La Salle. 



His Fleet Sails for the Mouth of the Mississippi. 55 

and Joatel, whose history of tlie progress and tras^ical termina 
tion of the scheme is now esteemed as the best authority. 

The general command was given to La Salle, but unfortunately 
another person, by the name of Beaujeu, had charge of the fleet, 
whose authority did not go beyond the management of the ves- 
sels. He was by birth from a family of note, and had been for 
many years in the king's service — at least long enough to spoil 
him for the position he was now to occupy as a subordinate to 
La Salle, whose experience in the wilds of America was sneered 
at by the officious captain. 

On their way to the mouth of the Mississippi, much dissension 
arose between Beaujeu and La Salle. The former was envi- 
ous and the latter tenacious. One vessel, containing valuable 
stores, was captured by Spanish cruisers in consequence of Beau- 
jeu's disobedience of La Salle's orders to land at Port de Paix, 
a harbor of La Tortue. 

After much detention at the West India Islands, in conse- 
quence of the sickness of La Salle, the fleet Anally entered the 
Gulf of Mexico, and made sail for their destination, as near as 
they could calculate their course from the latitude and longitude 
taken by La Salle when he with his canoe fleet, two years be- 
fore, had discovered the mouth of the river to which they were 
now tending. 

Coasting along the northern shore of the gulf, they made sev- 
eral landings, but finally passed by the place, either through 
ignorance or design of the faithless Beaujeu. Continuing along 
the shore, which trended southwardly. La Salle soon became 
convinced that they had missed their destination, and urged up- 
on Beaujeu to retrace the mysterious path which had now brought 
them to the treeless and sandy shores of Texas. This he refus- 
ed to do, on the ground that his provisions were getting short, 
and he must return immediately to France. La Salle, convinced 
of the mistake they hail made, oflered him fifteen days' extra 
provisions, which wouhi have been more than sufficient to feed 
the crew while engaged in continuing the search. Even this 
proposition Beaujeu had the effrontery to discard. 

In attempting to land, one of the three remaining vessels was 
stranded,. and became ii total wreck; but, notwithstandinij this 
calamity, Beaujeu set sail for France, leaving La Salle and his 
men to their fate on the savage and unknown shore whither they 
had been dritted like lost travelers. 

In this extremity La Salle landed his men and built a fort on 
the shores of Matagorda Bay, for this was the spot where the 
winds and waves had cast them. He was not without hopes 
that one of the rivers which emptied into it was one of the devi- 
ous mouths of the Mississippi; which, perhaps, may account for 



5() FrenGh Colony in Texas. 

his not continuing his search for this illusive object with the re- 
maining vessel.* 

The note in the margin is Joutal's account of the build- 
ing of the fort. The same faithful historian has recorded 
in his journal the wanderings of La Salle in his search for the 
fatal river, as he (Joutal) always called it. This search was per- 
sisted in for two years, during which time disease and death 
were wasting away the unhappy colony, till but a feeble remnant 
was left, while, to make their situation still more desperate, their 
last remaining vessel was wrecked in crossing the bay on some 
local service. To save them, La Salle formed the desperate res- 
olution to make his way on foot across the country to Canada, 
and obtain relief for these victims of his unlucky enterprise. 

Joutel, in giving an account of his starting, says : 

" We set out on the 12th of January, in the year 1687, being 
seventeen in number, viz : Monsieur de La Salle, Monsieur Cav- 
elier the priest, his brother, Father Anastasius the recollet, Mes- 
sieurs Moranget and Cavelier, nephews to Monsieur de La Salle, 

♦ •• When Mons. de Beaujeu was gone, we fell to work to make a fort, of the 
wreck of the ship that had been cast away and many pieces of timber the sea 
threw up ; and during that time several men deserted, which added to Monsieur 
de La Salle's affliction. A Spaniard and a Frenchman stole away and fled, and 
were never more heard of. Four or five others followed their example, bat Mon- 
sieur de La Salle, having timely notice, sent after them, and they were brought 
back. One of them was condemned to death, and the others to serve the king 
ten years in that country. 

" When our fort was well advanced, Monsieur de La Salle resolved to clear his 
doubts, and to go up the river where we were, to know whether it was not an arm 
of the Mississippi, and. accordingly ordered fifty men to. attend him, of which 
number were Monsieur Cavelier, his brother, and Monsieur Chedeville, both 
priests, two recollet friars, and several volunteers, who set out in five canoes we 
had, with the necessary provisions. There remained in the fort about an hundred 
and tliirty persons, and Monsieur de La Salle gave me the command of it, with 
orders not to have any commerce with the natives, but to fire at them if they ap- 
peared. 

"Whilst Monsieur de La Salle was absent, I caused an oven to be built, which 
was a great help to us, and employed myself in finishing the fort and putting it in 
a posture to withstand the Indians, who came frequently in the night to range 
about us, hcwling like wolves and' dogs ; but two or three musket shots put them 
to flight. It happened one night that, having fired six or seven shots, Monsieur 
de La Salle, who was not far fiom us, heard them, and being in pain about it, he 
returned with six or seven men, and found all things in a good posture. 

•• He told us he had found a good country, fit to sow and plant all sorts of 
grain, abounding in beeves and wildfowl ; that he designed to erect a fort farther 
up the river, and accordingly he left me orders to square out as much timber as I 
could get, the sea castini; up much upon the shore. He had given the same or- 
ders to the men he had left on the spot, seven or eight of whom, detached from 
the rest, being busy at that work, and seeing a number of the natives, fled, and 
unadvisably left their tools behind them. Monsieur de La Salle returning thither, 
found a paper made fast to a reed, which gave him notice of that accident, which 
he was concerned at, because of the tools, not so much for the value of the loss, 
as because it was furnishing the natives with such things as they might afterward 
make use of against us." 



La Salle Starts for the lllinoU Country. 57 

tlie Sieurs Duhaut the elder, PArcheveque, Hiens, Liotot, sur- 
geon, YOung' Talon, an Indian,* and a footman belonging to 
Monsieur de La Salle, &c. We carried along with us part of 
the best things every man had, and what was thought would be 
of use, wherewith the five horses were loaded, and we took our 
leaves with as much tenderness and sorrow, as if we had all pre- 
saged that we should never see each other more. Father Zeno- 
bius was the person wlio expressed it to me most significantly, 
saying he had never been so sensibly touched at parting with 
anybod}^" 

Many a parting adieu was waved to the travelers as they slowly 
made their way across the extended plain in front of the fort, till 
the last glimpse of their receding forms was lost in the expanse 
of wilderness which intervened between them and New France. 

La Salle with his men urged their way over the vast plains of 
Texiis, swimming the rivers that crossed their ]iath, subsisting 
on buftalo meat, and camping nightly on the ground, till they 
reached the Trinity river. The route thus far had been traveled 
a few months before by La Salle, in his erratic wanderings in 
quest of the "fatal river," and having an overstock of provisions 
at that time, he concealed some beans in a hollow tree for possi- 
ble future use. Being now encamped hard by, he despatched 
Liotot, Hiens, Teissier. L'Archeveque, Nika, and Saget, to se- 
'Cure them. To their disappointment, they found them spoiled. ; 
but, on their return, Nika shot two buffalo. Saget was now des- 
patched to the camp of La Salle for horses to bring in the meat, 
to be cured for use, on the way. 

The request was gladly complied with by sending two messen- 
gers, Moranget and De Marie, to return with Saget with the 
necessary horses. The meat had already been cut into thin sli- 
ces and hung out to dry by the usual process ; all except some 
choice bits which Duhaut and his pals had reserved for them- 
selves. This was an acknowledged prerogative of the hunter 
who killed game, and to Nika only belonged this right; but 
Moranget, in no mood to respect these distinctions, abusing the 
whole party in a storm of indignation, seized all the meat by 
force. 

The tragedy that followed is related by Joutel as follows : 

"The 16th. in their return, they met with two bullocks, which 
Monsieur de La Salle's Indian killed, whereupon they sent back 
his footman, to give him notice of what they had killed, that it 
he would have the flesh dried, he might send horses for it. The 

* The Indian mentioned by Joutel was Nika. This faithful servant had accom- 
panied La Salle in all his forest marches ever since he first pushed his way into 
the lake country, and had mere than once furnished subsistence to his famishing 
men by his superior skill in hunting, and had piloted them safely through myste- 
rious portages known only to Indians. 



58 Revolt and Murder Begin. 

17th, Monsieur de La Salle had the horses taken up, and ordered 
the Sieurs Moranget and de Marie, his footman, to go for that 
meat, and send back a horse load immediately, till the rest was 
dried. 

"Monsieur Moranget. when he came thither, found they had 
smoked both the beeves, though they were not dry enough ; and 
tha said Sieurs Liotot, Hiens, Duhaut, and the rest, had laid 
aside the marrow-bones and others to roast them, as was usual 
to do. The Sieur Moranget found fault with it ; he in a passion 
seized not only the flesh that was smoked and dried, but also the- 
bones, without giving them anything; but on the contrary, 
threatening they should not eat so much of it as they had iuia<j-- 
ined, and that he would manage that flesh after another manner. 
"This passionate behavior, so much out of season, and con- 
trary to reason and custom, touched the surgeon Liotot, Hiens,. 
and Duhaut to the quick, they having other causes of complaint 
against Moranget. They withdrew, and resolved together upon^ 
a bloody revenge ; they agreed upon the manner of it, and con- 
cluded they would murder the Sieur Moranget, Monsieur de La 
Salle's footman, and his Indian, because he was very faithful to 
him. 

"They waited till night, when those unfortunate creatures had 
supped and were asleep. Liotot the surgeon was the inhuman 
executioner. He took an axe, began by the Sieur Moranget, 
giving him many strokes on the head ; the same he did by the 
footman and the Indian, killing them on the spot, whilst his fel- 
low-villains, viz.: Duhaut, Hiens, Teissier, and L'Archeveque, 
stood upon their guard, with their arms, to Are upon such as 
should make any resistance. The Indian and the footman never 
stirred, but the Sieur Moranget had so much vigor as to sit up, 
but without being able to speak one word, and the assassins 
obliged the Sieur de Marie to make an end of him, though he 
was not in the conspiracy. 

"This slaughter had yet satisfied but one part of the revenge 
of those murderers. To finish it and secure themselves it was 
requisite to destroy the conimander-in-chief. They consulted 
about the safest inethod to effect it, and resolved to go together 
to Monsieur de La Salle, to knock out the brains of the nmst 
resolute immediately, and then it would- be easier to overcome 
the rest. But the river, which was between them and us, being 
much swollen, the difficulty of passing it made them put it ofF 
the 18th and 19th. On the other hand, Monsieur de La Salle 
was very uneasy on account of their long stay. His impatience 
made him resolve to go himself to find out his people, and to 
know the cause of it. 

"This was not done without many previous tokens of concern 
and apprehension. He seemed to have some presage of his mis- 



La Salle Falls a Victim. 59" 

fortune, inquiring of some whether the Sieur Liotot, Hicus, and' 
Duhaut had not expressed some discontent; and not l)earin» 
anything of it, he eonld not forbear setting out the 20tli, with 
Father Anastasius and an Indian, leaving me the command i» 
liis absence, and charging me from time to time to go the round* 
about our camp, to prevent being surprised, and to make a smoke- 
for him to direct his way in case of need. Wlien he came near 
thedwelhng of the murderers, looking out sharp to discover 
something, he observed eagles fluttering about a spot not far 
from them, which made him believe they had found some carri- 
on about the mansion, and he fired a shot, which was the signal 
of his death and forwarded it. 

''The conspirators hearing the shot, concluded it was Mon- 
sieur de La Salle, who was come to seek them. They made- 
ready their arms and provided to surprise him. Duhaut passed 
the river. L'Archeveque, the first of them, spying Monsieur de 
La Salle at a distance, as he was coming toward them, advanced 
and hid himself among the high weeds, to wait his passing by, 
so that Monsieur de La Salle, suspecting nothing, and having 
not so much as charged his piece again, saw the aforesaid L'Ar- 
cheveque at a good distance from him, and immediately asked, 
for his nephew Moranget, to which L'Archeveque answered that 
he was along the river. At the same time the traitor Duhaut 
tired his piece and shot Monsieur de La Salle through the head, 
so that he dropped down dead on the spot, without speaking one^ 
word. 

" Father Anastasius, who was then by his side, stood stock 
still in a fright, expecting the same fate, and not knowing wheth- 
er he should go forward or backward ; but the murderer Duhaut 
put him out of that dread, bidding him not to fear, for no hurt 
was intended him ; that it was despair that had prevailed witk 
him to do what he saw ; that he had long desired to be revenged 
on Moranget, because he had designed to ruin him, and that he 
was partly the occasion of his uncle's death. This is the exact. 
relation of that murder, as it was presently after told me by F. 
Anastasius. 

'' Such was the unfortunate end of Monsieur de La Salle's life, 
at a time when he might entertain the greatest hopes as the re- 
ward of his labors. He had a capacity and talent to make his- 
enterprise successful ; his constancy and courage and his extraor- 
dinary knowledge of the arts and sciences, which rendered iiirn 
tit for anything, together with an indefatigable body, which niade^ 
him surmount all difficulties, would have procured a glorious- 
issue to his undertaking, had not all those excellent qualities been, 
counterbalanced by too haughty a behavior, which sometimes^ 
made him insupportable, and by a rigidness toward those tha. 



t)0 The Guilty and Innooent in Council. 

were under his command, which at last drew on him an impla- 
cable hatred, and was the occasion of his death. 

"The shot which had killed Monsieur de La Salle was also a 
signal of the murder to the assassins for them to draw near. 
"They all repaired to the place where the wretched dead corpse 
lay, which the)'' barbarously stripjjed to the shirt, and vented 
"their malice in vile and opprobrious language. The surgeon Lio- 
"tot said several times, in scorn and derision. There thou liest^ 
great Basha j there thou liest. In conclusion, they dragged it 
naked among the bushes, and left it exposed to the ravenous 
wild beasts. So far was it from what a certain author writes, of 
their having buried him and set up a cross on his grave. 

"When those murderers had satiated their rage, they set out 
to come to us at our camp with the dried flesh, which they had 
-caused to be brought over the river by the Indians, who had 
been spectators of the murder and of all the inhuman acts that 
liad been committed, with amazement and contempt of us. 
When they were come to the camp, they found Messieurs Cave- 
lier the one brother, the other nephew to the murdered com- 
mander, whom Father Anastasius acquainted with the dismal, 
■end of our chief, and enjoined them silence, which it is easy to 
imagine was very hard upon them ; but it was absolutely neces- 
-sary. 

"However, Monsieur Cavelier the priest could not forbear 
telling them that if they would do the same by him, he would 
forgive them his murder, and only desired of them to give hini 
a quarter of an hour to prepare himself. They answered, they 
had nothing to say to him ; that what they had done was the 
effect of despair, to be revenged for the ill-usage they had re- 
ceived. 

"I was absent at that time; they called L'Ai'cheveque, who, 

as I have said, was one of the conspirators, had some kindness 

for me, and knowing they designed to make me away too, if I 

stood upon m}^ defence, he parted from them, to give me notice 

■of their mischievous resolution. He found me on a little rising 

.ground, where I was looking upon our horses as they grazed in 

a little adjacent bottom. His intelligence struck me to the heart, 

not knowing whether 1 should fly oi* stay ; but at length, having 

neither powder nor shot nor arms, and the said L'Archeveque 

:giving me assurances of my life, provided I was quiet and .said 

'nothing, I comnjitted myself to God's protection, and went to 

them, without taking any notice of what had been done. 

''Duhaut, puffed up with his new-gotten authority, procured 
5iim by his villainy, as soon as he saw me, cried out. Every man 
ought to command in his turn ; to which I made no answer ; and 
we were all of us obliged to stifle our resentment, that it might 
aiot appear, for our lives depcn led on it. How*"^"^r, it was easy 



Eulogy of La ISalle. 61 

to judge with what eyes Father Anastasius, Messieurs Cavelier^ 
and I beheld these murderers, to wliom we expected eveiy rao- 
meut to fall sacrifices. It is true, we dissetiiblied so well that 
they were not very suspicious of us, and that the temptation we- 
were under of making them away in revenge for those they had 
murdered, would have easily ))revailed and been put in execu- 
tion, had not ]\Ionsieur C;ivelier the priest always positively op- 
posed it, alleging that we ought to leave vengeance to God. 

"However, the murderers seized upon all the effects, without 
any opposition, and then we began to talk of jjroceeding on our 
journey." 

Thus, at the age of only forty-three years, fell the hero of a 
thonsatid conflicts against the calumnies of Jesuits,* the envy 
of rivals, and the untamed forces of Nature herself, against 
which he had contended for twenty years, in the heart of a sav- 
age wilderness. Much of this time the earth had been his couch, 
at night, and his companions the savages whose realms he had. 
entered. 

With these he was an unusual favorite, not because he took 
the least interest in their ever3'-day routine or catered to the nar- 
row-gauge ideas with which the average mind in a state of na- 
ture was occupied, but because in him was personified a true 
nobility of character which perforce subordinates common grades 
of intellect, whether savages or civilians, to its will. 

lie was one of those men whose stamp of genius, in his pecu- 
liar sphere, has been left upon his age, where it will remain an 
indelible record, not only among the forests of America, but 
among the splendors of Versailles, where his sunburnt face once 
stood among the effeminate graces of the French court like a 
giant among pigmies. 

Strange that one so gifted should have had his weak points ; 
but this was the case, and man}' of his misfortunes and his death 
were traceable to them. His weakness was found in his haughty, 
cold immobility, which repelled considerate counsels and left 
him alone in the hermitageof his thoughts when he needed advice. 

Bereft of their champion, the situation of the party not in the 
conspiracy was perilous in the extreme. The least irritating 
word from, them would have been the signal of deatli. 

Duhaut and Liotot seized upon all the e'ffects of La Salle, even 
the clothing on his person, leaving his naked body on the spot 
where he was killed, the flesh to be- eaten and the bones tossed 
about by the wolves, and finally to moulder beneath the grasses 
of the prairie. 



* La Salle never felt friendly to the Jesuits, and always chose priests not belong- 
ing to that order to accompany him. The Jesuits in turn opposed him. Hence 
Pv- ii"f- ■■^•vMv tmr.Ticr mi which Charlevoix speaks of him. 



^>^ Death of the Assassins. 

The excuse for this was, that it was but a just remuneration 
for the losses they had sustained in following his fortunes to the 
•desperate pass to which they were now brought. The appropri- 
ation of La Salle's effects aroused the indignation of the other 
-conspirators, but the outbreak destined to finish up the closing 
scene was postponed. » 

Fathers of the faith and assassins besmeared with blood com- 
posed the company now left on their way to the realms of civil- 
ization. These incongruous extremes, after being several days 
together, however, are relieved from each others' presence by a 
stroke of retribution as sudden as the death of La Salle himself. 
Joutal's relation of it is as follows: 

"After we had been some days longer in the same place, 
Hiens arrived with the two half-savage Frenchmen* and about 
twenty natives. He went immediately to Duhaut, and, after 
some discourse, told him he was not for going toward the Mis- 
sissippi, because it would be of dangerous consequence for them, 
and therefore demanded his share of the effects he had seized 
upon. Duhaut refusing to comply, and affirming that all the 
axes were his own, Hiens, who it is likely had laid the design 
before to kill him, immediately drew his pistol and iired it upon 
Duhaut, who staggered about four paces from the place and fell 
•down dead. At the same time, Ruter, who had been with Hiens, 
fired his piece upon Liotot the surgeon, and shot him through 
with three balls. 

'•These murders committed before us put me into a terrible 
consternation ; for believing the same was designed for me, I 
laid hold of my firelock to defend myself; but Hiens cried out 
to me to fear nothing, to lay down my arms, and assured me he 
had no design against me, but that he had revenged his master's 
death. He also satisfied Monsieur Cavelier and Father Anasta- 
sius, who were as much frightened as myself, declaring he meant 
them no harm, and that, though he had been in the conspiracy, 
yet had he been present at the time when Monsieur de La Salle 
was killed, he would not have consented, but rather have ob- 
structed it. 

" Liotot lived some hours after, and had the good fortune to 
make his confession ; after which, the same Enter put him out 
of his pain with a pistol-shot. We dug a hole in the earth and 
buried him in it with Duhaut, doing them more honor than they 
bad done to Monsieur de La Salle and his nephew Moranget, 
wh m they left to be devoured by wild beasts. Thus those 

* The two savage Frenchmen referred to by Joutel were deserters from La Salle's 
ifort on Matagorda Bay the year before. They had cast iheir lot with the Indians, 
»nd here met their old comrades by chance. 



Dimsion of La Salle's Effects. 63 

murderers met with what they had deserved, dying the same 
death they had put others to." 

It had been apparent to the innocent party, ever since the 
death of La Salle, that tlie murderers durst not return to Cana- 
da, and it had been a question not only how to obtain a share of 
the outfit so necossai-y for the wilderness tour, but how to part 
■company amicably with these odious associates. 

The late death of Duhaut and Liotot settled this question very 
readily, Iliens, the leader of the outlaws, declarino; that he would 
not risk his neck in Canada, and made an equitable division of 
the spoils. The travelers then cat loose from the late scenes of 
bloodshed, bidding adieu to the malcontents, whose lot was now 
cast with these Indians, less savaije than themselves. 

The division of the goods and the final parting is best told by 
Jontel, as follows : 

"Accordingly, he laid aside, for Father Anastasius, Messieurs 
Oavelier, the uncle and the nephew, thirty axes, four or five doz- 
en of knives, about thirty pounds of powder and the like quan- 
tity of ball. He gave each of the others two axes, two knives, 
two or three pounds of powder, with as much ball, and kept the 
rest. As for the horses, he took the best and left us the three 
least. Monsieur Cavelier asked him for some strings of beads, 
which he granted, and seized ujion all the late Monsieur de La 
Salle's clothes, baggage, and other effects, besides above a thou- 
sand livi-es in money, which belonged to the late Monsieur Le 
Gros, who died at our dwelling of St Louis. Before our de- 
parture, it was a sensible afiliction to us to see that villain walk 
about, in a scarlet coat and gold galloons, which had belonged 
to the late Monsieur de La Salle, and which, as I have said, he 
had seized. 

" After that, Hiens and his companions withdrew to their own 
■cottage, and we resolved not to put oflT our departure any longer. 
Accordingly, we made ready our horses, which much alarmed 
the natives, and especially the chief of them, who said and did 
all he could to obstruct our journey, promising us wives, plenty 
•of provisions, representing to u^ the imnlense dangers, as well 
from enemies who surrounded them as from the bad and impas- 
sable ways and the many woods and rivers we were to pass. 
However, we were not to be moved, and only asked one kind- 
ness of him, in obtaining of which there were many difficulties, 
and it was that he would give us guides to conduct us to Cappa ; 
but at length, after much trouble and many promises of a good 
reward, one was granted, and two others went along with him. 

"All things being thus ordered for our departure, we took 
'leave of our hosts, passed by Hien's cottage, and embraced him 
and his companions. We asked him for another horse, which 



^4: The Journey Resumed. 

ii'it. granted. He desii-ed an attestation, in Latin, of Monsieur 
Cavelier, that he had not been concerned in the murder of Mon- 
sieur do La Salle, which was given him, because there was no 
refusing of it; and we set forward with L'Archeveque and Meu- 
hier, who did not keep their w^ord with us, but renrained among 
those barbarians, beino: infatuated with that course of libertinism 
thej had run themselves into. Thus there were only seven of 
us that stuck together to return to Canada, viz : Father Anasta- 
tasius. Messieurs Cavelier, tlie uncle and the nepliew, the Sieur 
de Marie, one Teissier, a young man born at Paris, whose name 
was Bartholomew, and L with six horses and the three Indians 
who were to be our guides ; a very small number for so great an 
enterprise, but we put ourselves entirely into the hands of Di- 
vine Providence, contiding in God's mercy, which did not for- 
sake us." 

While they are laboring through the solitudes of the dreary 
country, we will follow the adventures of Tonty in his noble at- 
tempt to rescue La Salle's colony. 

After the news of La Salle's departure from France to colonize 
the Mississippi country had reached Canada and the Illinois set- 
tlements, Tonty, who was stationed at the latter place, was fired 
with zeal to serve the new colony by every means in his power. 
Accordinsly, he assembled a band of twenty Frenchuien and 
thirty Indians, and with this force, on the 13th of February, 
1686, went down the Mississippi river to its mouth, where he- 
expected to find his old friend La Salle at the head of a flourish- 
ing colony ; but what was his surprise and disappointment when, 
after searching through the whole region, no trace of it could be 
found. 

After leaving marks of his presence in various phiees, he wrote 
a letter to La Salle, and lett it with the clxief of the Bayagoulas, 
who promised to send it to him should he ever learn his where- 
abouts. 

Tonty then started up the river with his men ; but when he 
arrived at the mouth of the Arkansas, he deemed it prudent to 
build a fort, and leave a force of six men, among whom were 
Couture and De Launay, here to succor the colony if possible.* 

This done, he returned to his post in the Illinois country. 

For more than a year these sentinels of the forest remained at. 
theu- post, holding themselves in readiness for any emergency. 

Hard bv was a large villasre of the Arkansas tribe, who enliv- 
ened the hermitage of the Frenchmen with tlie rude amusements 
of Indian life. 

One summer day, while the tedious hours were being measur- 

* Tonty's Memoir, in French's Hist. Coll., vol. i, p. 68. 



Arrival at the Arkansas. 65 

ed out with their dull routine, the Frenchmen were startled from 
their reveries by a French voice across the river, which flowed 
by their paHsaded retreat, and they immediately fired two guns 
as a signal, which the party across the river answered. 

Two canoes were immediately sent across the river, and the 
tired travelers were soon taken over and conducted into the fort. 

The reader scarcely need be told that they were the fugitives 
from La Salle's unhappy colony in Texas. Cavelicr, his brother, 
was the principal spokesman, and as he related the long train of 
overwhelming disasters which had befjillen the colony, and at 
last came to the cruel assassination of La Salle, their listeners 
gave vent to their feelings in tears and sobs. 

After a brief rest, the travelers resumed their journey for the 
Illinois country, leaving the lonesome garrison at their post, 
whose duties were now to establish a representation of French 
interests in the country. 

On the 14th of September, they arrived at the old familiar 
grounds of Ft. St. Louis, on the Illinois river, opjiosite the pres- 
ent town of Utica ; and now comes the strange part of the history. 

Tonty, the commander, was absent tigliting the Iroquois, and 
Bellefontaine, his lieutenant, stood in his place. All were eager 
to get tidings from La Salle, and, in response to their inquiries, 
they were told that he was well when they left, but omitted to 
state that he had been assassinated on the way — a very question- 
able way of telling the truth by establishing a talsehood, the in- 
centive for which, it is but fair to presume, must liave been from 
sinister motives, which supposition is strengthened by the fact 
that Cavelier borrowed, in La Salle's name, 4000 livres from 
Tonty. 

It was the intention of Cavelier and his party to repair imme- 
diately to France,- and to this end they made haste to take their 
departure. Arriving at Chicago, which by this time had become 
famous as a portage, they waited a week for the storm to abate, 
before daring to venture on the lake with their canoe, when thoy 
started, but were soon driven back by the heavy surf. 

They now returned to Ft. St. Louis, and quartered under the 
hospitalities of Tonty, whose friendship for La Salle made him 
receive the sul»tle de-jeivers witli welcome. 

The next spring, the party took advantage of the first mild 
weather to embark for Canada by the Chicago route, and from 
thence sailed for France, where they at last unbosomed them- 
selves of their terril)le secret at tlie French court. 13ut, long be. 
fore this, tlie withered germ of French power in Texas had fall 
en under the war-club of the Indians.* 



* The history of its destruction was furnished by the Indians, for which see 
Shea's Discovery of the Mississippi Valley, p. 208. 



<S6 Iberville and Bienville. 

The bones of La Salle lay mouldering beneath the luxuriant 
grasses of a Texas prairie, but his plans for the aggrandizement 
of New France survived his untimely death, and and were soon 
destined to be renewed by Iberville and Bienville. 

In 1691', these intrepid Frenchmen, who were born and nur- 
tured among the excitements of life in Canada, obtained com- 
mand of a small fleet, and made a French settlement on Dau- 
phin Island, off the Bay of Mobile. 

The same year they entered the mouth of the Mississippi riv- 
er, and sailing up its scroll-shaped turnings, landed in the domin- 
ions of Tonty's old friend the chief of the Bayagoulas. It will 
be remembered that he Jiad left a letter for La Salle with him, 
when he went down the river fourteen years previously. This 
letter had been preserved by him during these j^ears with pious 
care, and with commendable discretion he now relieved himself 
of his responsibility by giving it to Iberville. 

A permanent French colony was now established at the mouth 
of the river, out of which, a few years later, grew the city of 
New Orleans and the settlements of the famous sugar plantations 
along the river. 

This was the southern extremity of the French settlements in 
America. Canada was the northern extremity, and Chicago the 
most frequented portage between them. 

There were, however, other portages of intercommunication ; 
one by the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, another by the St. Joseph 
and Kankakee rivers, both of which had beeu traveled, the one 
by Marquette and the other by La Salle, as already related. 

The next year after Iberville and Bienville's successful settle- 
ment at the mouth of the Mississippi, the settlements of Kas- 
kaskia and Cahokia were made, and other thriving French vil- 
lages sprung up near by them a few years later. 

Vincennes, on the "Wabash, was settled in 1710, and Ft. Char- 
ters, on the Mississippi, not far from Cahokia, in 1720. It was 
the strongest inland fortress in America, costing over $50,000. 

A cordon of French forts extended from Canada to New Or- 
leans, at this time, with Avhich to cement the vast extent of New 
France together by an unbroken chain. 

That one of these forts was built at Chicago there is sufficient 
evidence, from the fact that mention is made of its existence, 
by Tonty, while on his way from Canada to the Illinois countrj'^ 
in 1685, who uses the following language : "I embarked for the 
Illinois Oct. 30th, 16S5, but, being stopped by the ice, I was 
obliged to leave my canoe and proceed by land. After going 120 
leagues, I arrived at Ft. Chicagou, where M. de la Durantaye com- 
manded.* No record remains as to the time of its construction. 



•Tonty's Memoir, published in Hist. Coll. of Lou., vol. i, p. 67. 



The English Colonies. 67 

There was a missionary station here in 1699, where the gospel 
was dispensed to the Miamis.* There appears also to have been 
a French village here at that time, as St. Cosme speaks of a lost 
boy at the time of his passing through the place, and several 
Frenchmen turning out to hunt for him among the tall grasses. 
After thirteen days, the boy returned to tlie village, spent with 
hunger and fatigue, and almost insensible, f 

While these events, so auspicious to the French in the interim, 
were passing, the English colonists were at work within a very 
circumscribed compass, along the eastern fringe of the continent. 

The Massachusetts colony was composed of Puritans after the 
Cotton Mather pattern. 

The Connecticut and the New Hampshire colonies were also 
fashioned after the same model. 

The Rhode Island colony was modified somewhat by the libe- 
ralism of Roger Williams, Wheelright, Yane, and Anne Hutch- 
inson. 

The Germans along the Hudson river were not unlike this 
same thrifty people of our day. 

On the Delaware were the Swedes and Fins, models of frugal- 
ity and piety. 

In Pennsylvania were the English Quakers, under the leader- 
ship of the broad-gauge brain of William Penn. 

In Virginia was the true type of English chivalry. 

The Puritans may justly be called the conscience of the nation, 
and the Virginians, with equal propriety, the sword of the nation. 

"In the Carolinas were Huguenots and Quakers, and in Geor- 
gia respectable Englishmen, not conspicuous for any tangent 
points of character, except the ambitious aims indispensable to 
American emigrants. 

No confederation or bond of union existed between these dif- 
ferent colonies, but the exploits of the French in the West were 
rapidly hastening an issue bound to unite them together in a 
bond of union which was the outgrowth of the French and In- 
dian war. 

While this issue is maturing, Chicago must slumber in obscu- 
rity. 

* Early Voyages, p. 50, published by Joel Munsel, Albany. 
f Early Voyages, pp. 56-8. 



CHAPTER lY. 

First Passage through the Detroit River — A Stone Statue found 
there — English on the Upper Lakes — Settlement of Detroit — 
The Foxes Attack the Place — Mission of Father Mdrquette* 
at Michilimackinac — Cahokia and Kaskaskia Settled — Ft. 
Chartres — Vincennes Settled — Comparisoii of the English 
with the French Colonies — The Paris Convention to Establish 
the Line between the English and French in America — 
Convention at Albany — The Ohio Company — Ihe French 
Build Forts on French Creek — Gov. Dinioiddie sends Wash- 
ington to Warn them out of the Country — The Ohio Company 
send Trent to Build a Fort where Pittsburgh now stands — 
He is driven away by the French — Washington sent to the 

. Frontier — He Attacks the French — Retreats — Builds Ft. Ne- 
cessity — The Fort taken by the French. 

Detroit stands foremost among the cities of the Northwest in 
local historic interest, although the place was unknown to the 
French even for some years after Lake Superior had been ex- 
plored to its western extremity and missions established along 
its southern waters. 

The Ottawa river of Canada, Lake Nippising, and the north- 
ern waters of Lake Huron, were the channels by which the 
great West was first reached by the French, and nearly the only 
ones used till La Salle had secured Lakes Ontario and Erie as a 
highway from Canada to the West, as told in the previous chap- 
ter. 

In the autumn of 1669, at the Indian village of Ganastogue, 
at the western extremity of Lake Ontario, two distinguished ex- 
plorers, La Salle and Joliet, met by chance. Joliet was on his 
return from a trip to the Upper Lake, as Lake Superior was then 
called, for the purpose of discovering the co]ijhu- mines. In 
reaching this place from Lake Superior, he must have passed 
down the river, then without a name, now called Detroit river, 
and first called by the French " The Detroit " (The Straits). 
It is a matter of record that an old Indian village, called Teuch- 
sa Grondie, stood originally there, but no mention is made of it 
bv Joiicc. 



Discovery of Detroit. ^-^ 

The next spring, 1670, two priests, Galinee and Dablon, on 
their way from Canada to the mission of Sainte Marie, which 
had been established at the Saiilt the previous year, landed at or 
near the present site of Detroit. Tlie first object of interest they 
beheld was a barbarous piece of stone sculpture in the human 
form. This was quite sufficient to unbalance the equilibrium of 
the two fathers, whose zeal had been whetted into an extrava- 
gant ]ntch by the liardships they had encountered on their way. 
With pious indi,^nation they fell upon the "impious device " with 
their hatchets, broke it in pieces, and hurled the fragments into 
the river.* 

The place would have been brought to light long before but 
for the Iroquois, who guarded the passage of the lower lakes 
with bull-dog tenacity, to preserve their own nation and protect 
their fur trade. f 

That a fort was built at Detroit between this time and 1687 iff 
infeiTed from Ton ty's Memoir,:}: in which, while on the way down 
the lakes, he says : "The Sieur de la Forest was already gone 
with a canoe and thirty Frenchmen, and he was to wait for me 
at Detroit till the end of !Mav." Farther along he continues: 
"We came, on the 19th of'^May (1687), to Ft. Detroit. We 
made some canoes of elm, and I sent one of them to Ft. iSt. Jo- 
seph." 

During the few years which succeeded Frontenac's recall from 
the governor's chair of Canada, La Barre and next Denouville 
supplied his place. Both ot their administrations were ushered 
in with promises of great results, but terminated in utter failures. 
They had measured their strength against the Iroquois, who 
proved too much for them, both in the forum and in the field. 

Thos. Dongan was then colonial governor of New York, whose 
vigorous and junbitious policy, assisted by the Iroquois, contem- 
plated the establishment of a trading post at Michilimackinac, 
for the mutual interests ot both, and, in 1687, English agents 
started up the lakes for that purpose,! undei* protection of the 
Iroquois and Foxes. 

The latter held supreme sway on those waters at that time, 
and were more friendly to the Englii?h than the French, as the 



* Jesuit Relations, 1670. 

t Father Paul Raguneau, in the Jesuit Relations of 1650, uses the following 
lanc;uage : 

[ 'l'riimlation'\ " All the Algonquin nations who dwell to the west of the an- 
•cient country of the Il-urons, ami where the faith has not yet been able to find its 
way, are people for whom we cannot have enough compassion. If it be necessary 
that the name of God be adored, and the cross be planted there, it shall be done 
in spite of all the raL;e of hell and the cruelly of the Iroquois, who are worse th&U 
the demons of hell." — Pages 3o and 31. 

J See Hiit. Coll. of Lou., vol. i, p. 69. 

II Paris Doc. III., published in Doc. Hist. N. Y., vol. i, p. 229. 



70 The Kngli&h on the Upjper Lakes Cajptured. 

French had, by some misdirection, made enemies of them at 
their first interview. 

After Tonty with his men had left Detroit, as just told in his 
Memoir, as he was continuing his course along the lal^ie shore 
toward Canada, he fell in company with Durantaye and Du Lhut, 
with their commands. 

They had in their custody thirty English prisoners, whom 
they had just captured on the shore of Lake Huron, 

Farther along in the Memoir, Tonty states that he took thirty 
more English prisoners, who were on their way to Michilimack- 
inae, under command of Major Gregory — that they had with 
them several Huron and Ottawa captives, wiio had been taken 
by the Iroquois and consigned to their charge — that they also 
had a "great quantity of brandy" with them, which Tonty con- 
gratulated himself for having taken, inasmuch as it would have 
(in his own words) "gained over our allies, and thus we should 
have all the savages and the English upon us at once." 

A war was going on at this time between the Iroquois and the 
French, of which the English probably took advantage to at- 
tempt to gain a foothold on the upper lakes. 

Before the war was ended, all Canada was overrun by the Iro- 
quois, Montreal burned, and two hundred persons captured and 
taken into the wilderness lodges of their conquerors in the pres- 
ent State of New York. 

They were treated so kindly, however, that more than half of 
them refused to return to their home in Montreal after peace had 
been made, even though the French king commanded them to 
return. 

The following September, 1689, commissioners from the New 
York and New Enghind colonies met the Iroquois deputies at 
Albany in convention, when one of the chiefs congratulated the 
English colonists that their chain of friendship was strengthened 
by their burning of Montreal. 

Frontenac was now restored to power in Canada, and undei 
his vigorous administration the Iroquois were obliged to evacu- 
ate the French provinces, and the war was transferred to the 
territory of the English colonists, by the burning of Schenectady 
and the slaughter of its inhabitants. The original plan of this 
expedition was to capture Albany, the headquarters from which 
the English had fitted out tjieir expedition to Michilimackinac,* 
but on their way they were informed that there was too large a 
force there for them to encounter, and they attacked Schenectady 
instead. 

Had the English scheme to establish a post at Michilimacki- 
nac proved a success, the limits of New France would have been 

♦ Paris Doc. IV. 



Settlement of Detroit. 71 

confined to the present limits of Canada, and the whole western 
country have been opened immediately to English colonization, 
which must have hastened its settlement at least a generation. 
But the whole plan miscarried, if not on account of Tonty's 
seizure of the brandy, at least owing to the great distance of 
the post from the English settlements and to the allied action of 
the French and western tribes against the Foxes, whose imme- 
diate protection was necessary to the English cause on the upper 
lakes. 

This English attempt to gain a foothold in the West doubtless 
stimulated the French to hasten to completion their own designs 
to accomplish the same purpose.* To this end a council was 
called at Montreal a few years later, to which the Canadian and 
western tribes were invited, nor were their ancient enemies the 
Iroquois forgotten. 

The latter now disclaimed any intention to allow either the 
French or English to erect forts on the upper waters, but the 
western tribes favored the plan, of course. Meantime the French 
had already made preparations to establish a post on the Detroit. 

Antoine de la Motte Cadillac, Lord of Bouaget and M<^untde- 
sert, was on the spot, with a commission from Louis XI Y., as 
commandant of Detroit. He started from Montreal in June, 
1701, with one hundred men and all the necessary appliances, 
both religious and secular, to form a colony, and the next month 
safely landed, tented upon the spot, built Ft. Pontchartrain, and 
and commenced the settlement of the place. 

The settlement was a permanent one, although for many years 
it was often reduced to the verge of ruin. The aimless charac- 
ter of the settlers was the chief cause of this, but there were 
other hindrances in the way of progress. The Iroquois looked 
with jealous eyes upon them, but not more so than did the Eng- 
lish settlements along the Hudson ; and three years after the 
settlement of Detroit, an Indian convention of the tribes bor- 
dering on the lakes was summoned to meet at Albany. f 

Here the brains of those vacillating French allies, particularly 
the Ottawas, were temporarily turned over to the English inter- 
est, and on their return they set fire to the town, but the flames 
were soon extinguished. 

A second attempt to burn the place, while it was under com- 
mand of Tonty, met with no better success. Meantime Cadillac 
succeeded in getting some Indians from Michilimackinac and 
other places, whose friendship was of a more abiding character, 
to form a settlement near by, who acted as a sort of picket guard, 
about the place. 

These consisted of Ottawas, whose village was on the river, 

*Lanman's Mich., p. 40. f Cass' Discourse. 



72 Mental of Lands around Detroit. 

above the town, and the Hurons and Pottawattoinies, whose 
villages were below. Comparative safety thus secured, in 1707 
Cadillac parceled out the adjacent lands to his unambitious sub- 
jects on the following terms : 

"By the conditions of a grant, made by Cadillac, at Detroit, 
March 10th, 1707, the grantee, Frangois Fafard Delorme was 
bound to pay a reserved rent of fifteen* francs a year to the 
crown, for ever, in peltries, and to begin to clear and improve 
the land within three months from the date of the grant. All 
the timber was reserved to the crown, whenever it might be 
wanted for fortifications, or for the construction of boats or other 
vessels. The property of all mines and minerals was reserved 
to the crown. The privilege of hunting rabbits, hares, part- 
ridges, and pheasants, was reserved to the grantor. The gran- 
tee was bound to plant, or help to plant, a long May-pole before 
the door of the principal manor-house, on the first day of May 
in every year. AH the grain raised by the grantee was to be 
carried to the mill of the manor to be ground, paying the tolls 
sanctioned by the custom of Paris. On every sale of the land 
a tax was levied ; and, before a sale, the 'grantee was bound to 
give information to the government, and if the government was 
willing to take the land at the price ofiered to the grantee, it 
was to have precedence as a purchaser. The grantee could not 
mortgage the land without the consent of the government. For 
a term of ten years, the grantee was not permitted to work, or 
cause any person to work, directly or indirectly, at the profession 
and trade of a blacksmith, locksmith, aruiorer, or brewer, with- 
out a permit. All effects and articles of merchandise, sent to or 
brought from Montreal, were to be sold hj the grantee himself, 
or other person who, with his family, was a French resident; 
and not by servants or clerks or foreigners or strangers. The 
grantee was forbidden to sell or trade spirituous liquors to In- 
dians. He was bound to sufter on his lands such roads as might 
be thought necessary for public use. He was bound to make 
his fences in a certain manner, and, when called upon, to assist 
in making his neighbors' fences."* 

As might be supposed, little progress could be made by the 
inhabitants, shackled as they were by such oppressive restric- 
tions, and environed by the warlike Foxes, liable at the shglitest 
provocation to attack them. In May, 1712, incited by a blood- 
thirsty spirit or possibly by a promise of a reward from the Iro- 
^quois or their patrons, the English colonists, they laid, as they 
supposed, secret plans to attack the place. 

The occupants of the three friendly Indian villages adjoining 
were absent, and but for the disclosures of a converted Indian 

*Am. State Papers, Public Lands, v. I, 261. 



].. . ■. 

Settlement of MichilimackinaG. T3 

of the Fox nation, the place must have been taken, for there 
was but a slender garrison to defend it. The savage disciple to 
the Catholic faith, whose newly-bred conscience impelled him to 
act the apostate to his own people, obtained an interview with 
M. Du Buison, the commandant, and revealed the secret to him 
in time to make preparation for the impending blow. 

Cadillac was now Intendant of Louisiana and busy with Cro- 
zat in a butterfly chase after supposed gold mines, and the enth'e 
responsibilities rested upon Du Buison. He immediately sent 
deputies to the various tribes to the south and west, whose jeal- 
ousy of the ferocious Foxes made them his ready allies. "Yes, 
we will come and defend you, and all we ask is, that you cover 
the bodies of such of us as are slain, with a little earth, to keep 
the flies away," was their reply.* 

The zealous allies came, and were received within the gates 
of the fort, and on the 13th of May the attack was commenced 
from an intrenchment hastily thrown up by the determined Fox- 
es, commanding the outworks of the French defences. To drive 
them from their position, the besieged erected a block-house 
commanding it.f 

The strife soon became desperate. For nineteen days the bat- 
tle raged, the victory alternating from one side to the other, till 
the Foxes withdrew under cover of night. They were followed, 
and the fiercest battle of the war ensued, in which the Foxes 
were routed and driven from the country to Green Bay.:j: 

This danger passed, the inhabitants of Detroit basked in the 
sunshine of peace and security from further alarms, till the 
French and Indian war had spent its force along the far-off east- 
ern frontier, and an English garrison had taken quiet possession 
of the town. Then again the desolations of Pontiac's war rolled 
over their heads fiercer than ever ; but till then the peasant hab- 
itant of the place paid his annual rental, cultivated his garden 
patch, and lived a thoughtless life, like the population of other 
French towns in the wilderness solitudes of New France. 

Michilimackinac was settled more than a quarter of a century 
before Detroit. Its name is of Indian origin, the language of 
which is, The Place of the Dancing Spirits. | It had a history 
before the white man ever visited it, of which a volume might 
be written, from the traditions of the red man. Its first settle- 
ment by the French was made about the year 1G71, at which 

* Monette's Miss. Val. • 

t Cass' Discourse. 

X From Green Bay they next emigrated to Rock river, in Illinois, and remained 
till 1832, the time of the Black Hawk war. 

II This is Schoolcraft's version. Others equally authoritative, say it meant a tur- 
tle. The discrepancy probably comes from the word having different significa- 
tions in different Indian dialects. 



74 Settlement of Cahokia^ Kaskaskia^ and Vincennea. 

time some converted Huron s fled to the place as a refuge of safe- 
ty from their demon-like persecutors, the Iroquois, and here the 
good Father Marquette followed them, impelled not by any 
worldly motive, but by the love of God and man, and obedience 
to the will of his patron saint, "the Blessed Yirgin." 

For many years the place had no permanent settlers, but serv- 
ed as a transient stopping place for itinerating priests and erratic 
fur-traders. 

Of the little cluster of early French towns in the southern part 
of the Illinois, Cahokia was settled first, by Father Pinet and 
St. Cosme, in 1700.* Kaskaskia was settled a few months later. 
These and other smaller places close by soon became thriving 
French villages ; all the more so as they were in no danger of 
hostile invasion from any quarter. 

Ft. Charters was a substantial fortress, built of stone, with 
bastions and towers. It was finished in 1720, and would have 
stood for centuries but for the wearing away of the Mississippi 
river's east bank, on which it stood, half way between Caholda 
and Kaskaskia. The portions of it not thus uiulermined are still 
left in a good state of preservation, as a monument of French 
occupation of the Mississippi Yalley. 

Yincennes was settled by Father Mermet in 1710. f This was 
an isolated Frencli post, buried in the depths of the gigantic for- 
ests of the lower Wabash. Here the French lived and grew in 
an atmosphere of Indian social life, till the fires of the American 
Revolution, kindled afar off", soon came to their doors, as will 
appear in a succeeding chapter. 

Sharp lines of contrast in religion and government, between 
the English and French colonies of America, were everywhere 
visible. The fairest portions of the country were in the hands 
of the French, and almost the entire Indian population of the 
vallies of the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence were their allies. 
Throughout this immense territory, including also the entire 
lake country, the flag of France waved in security among the 
confiding natives, without the least apprehension of future dan- 
ger from its patronage. They cultivated their scanty patches of 
corn, just enough to keep them in hominy,- and in the winter 
gathered in a rich harvest of furs, wherewith to spread their 
tents with mats and to barter with the French traders for guns, 
kettles, knives, hatchets, vermilion with which to paint their 
faces, and the inevitable whisky. 

• A tract, reprinted by Shea in 1859, entitled " Relation ou Journal du voyage 
du R. P. Gravier, de la Compagnie de Jesus en 1700 de puis le pays des Illinois 
jusq'a I'embouchere du Mississippi, Ecrit ou Pere de Lambecville et envoye du 
fort de Mississippi a 17 lieues de sa decharge dans le Golfe ou Mer Mexique le 16 
Fevrier, 1701," is the authority from which the above is taken. 

t Law's History of Vincennes, p. 12. 



Contrast between the English and French Colonies. 75 

' The fur trade was the great interest of the country, and those 
engaged in it were men of no ordinary capacity for accom- 
plishing large results with slender means. Their every-day rou- 
tine was a heavy strain upon their physical as well as mental 
powers, as far as sharp bargain and sale was concerned. Yet 
they were but servile instruments in the hands of their superiors. 
The same might with equal propriety have been said of the en- 
tire French population of the country, who lived by industry, 
if the average of a day's labor in a week could be called such. 

Farming was of but secondary interest, and but few of those 
engaged in it owned the land they tilled, nor had they the least 
desire to own it. 

The French villages in the Illinois country, as well as at most 
other places, were each under the government of a priest, who, 
besides attending to their spiritual wants, dispensed justice to 
them, and from his decisions there was no appeal. Though this 
authority was absolute, the records of the times show no abuse 
of it, but, on the contrary, prove that it was always used with 
paternal care. It could hardly be otherwise in their wilderness 
isolation, uniting, as it did, the interests of all on one common 
level. Nevertheless, it was a modified form of feudalism, sub- 
ordinating everything to the will of the Church and State com- 
bined, and could not have been perpetuated into the maturity of 
the State with the same happy results that followed its begin- 
ning. 

The double power, thus gathering force and keeping pace 
with the growth of the State, was too transcendant for the varied 
and multiplied wants of individual enterprise. But the French 
peasant did not look ahead so far as this. He was contented, 
because his mind was dwarfed within the narrow compass of 
present necessities, and his old-fashioned but gaudy attire, as well 
as his daily bread, came with a small effort. Without ambition, 
and almost without temptation to offend against his fellows, he 
had little to trouble his conscience, or, if he had anything, the 
burden was readily lifted by his father confessor.* 

Turning from this picture to that of the English colonies, is 
like leaping over an un bridged chasm. Here two positive ele- 
ments rose into prominence, like indigenous trees in a forest. 
The most potent of these was the Puritan element. When the 
Protestant religion was first introduced into England in 1528, its 
proselytes, though not men of deeper thoughts than those of 
Bavaria, Wirtemburg, and Moravia, yet were more demonstra- 
tive and aggressive than their German brethren, and, in 1550, 
the new faith had grown into formidable proportions. In 1563, 

* Ravnal's Hist. East and West Indies ; Monette's Miss. Valley ; Martin's Lou- 
islahb. 



76 The Limits of New France. 

an open issue was taken with the established church, and ic in 
that day till the Puritans planted their feet on the rock of Ply- 
mouth, there was no truce to religious agitation in England. 
This rock proved a safety-valve for the preservation of the old 
English Church and State, united as they were into one marvel- 
ous tower of strength, in defiance of the Puritan element. 

Happy Avas it for the world that Plymouth Rock became the 
retort which concentrated tlie elastic force of Puritanism and 
economised it for the use of America, there to grow up with the 
new State, modified by the public policy of government better 
suited to the wants of the master spirits of that age, because it 
was one of their own making. 

When these fugitives crossed the Atlantic, they brought with 
them the true philosopher's stone. They represented the ele- 
ments of national progress on a grander scale than had ever en- 
tered into the imagination of a knight of a baronial castle. Sci- 
ence, literature, and exalted ideas of liberty, were everywhere 
diffused and written upon the immaculate tablet which was open- 
ed before them beyond the Atlantic. 

The other element of American power was planted at James- 
town. Here the acknowledged representative of the English- 
man, supreme in his convictions of propriety, planted his stand- 
ards, and became the chivalric representative of liberty in its 
broadest sense. 

Both the Jamestown and Plymouth elements rapidly grew into 
power, and, forgetting the old religious issues that had made 
enemies of their fathers, united together and subordinated the 
German and the Swedish colonies to their rule. Along the 
Atlantic coast the various colonies, extending from the New 
Hampshire colony to the Georgia colony, were under English 
protection, and held their lands by virtue of English charters, 
but between each no confederation had ever been thought of. 

Up to this time the colonists had manifested but little concern 
about the interior, except the Virginia colon}^ who had pushed 
across the Alleghenies, and founded some trading stations on 
the head-waters of the Ohio river. 

The great question to be settled was. Where should the line 
be run between New France and the lands of the English colo- 
nists in America? From its magnitude, it had already attracted 
the attention of the powers of Europe, who were on the watch 
lest their balance of power should be thrown out of equilibrium 
by too great a share of the American continent falling into the 
hands of either France or England. Accordingly, by the treaty 
of Aix la ('hapelle, in 1748, which hushed Europe to peace after 
thirty years of war, it was provided that the line should be estab- 
lished by commissioners appointed by the sovereigns of the two 
respective nations. In 1752, these commissioners met in Paris, 



The Convention at Albany. <T 

but out of the tangle of old English charters, French forms of 
possession, etc., no result could be reached which satisfied the 
ambitious designs of both countries, and the question was left to 
be settled by future destiny. To control this destiny, prepara- 
tions for war were now made on both sides. 

The French strengthened their forts, particularly Louisburg 
on the coast of Cape Breton, Quebec, and Crown Point on the 
west bank of Lake Champlain.* 

The English, on their part, called a convention of their thir- 
teen colonies in America, to meet at Albany in June, 1753, for 
the purpose of concerting measures of defense. Here were as- 
sembled the representatives of the crown, sapient and cautious, 
but not more so than the deputies of her trans- Atlantic children. 
The crown representatives refused to acknowledge any united 
action of the colonies, lest this union might at some future day 
become too powerful for the public welfare, while the colonies 
refused to sign a compact giving the mother country the right to 
tax them even for defensive purposes. ISTo logic on either side 
could break through this dead-lock, and the convention adjourn- 
ed without accomplishing any result. 

Meantime, the issue was hastening to a crisis on the western 
frontier. As early as 174S, Conrad Weiser (a noted interpreter 
at Indian treaties) had been on the head-waters of the Ohio river 
as agent for the Ohio Company, then forming. A trading sta- 
tion at Logstown. eighteen miles below the fork of the Ohio, 
was then established by this company, which was composed of 
Yirginians, among whom were Lawrence and Augustine, broth- 
ers of George Washington. Half a million acres of land ware 
granted tliem by the crown of England, for purposes of coloni- 
zation. Two other companies were also chartered, for similar 
purposes, the same year. 

Soon as the French learned of this, Gallisoniere, Governor of 
Canada, determined also to assert the French claim to the coun- 
try along the Ohio, and the next year, 1749, sent Capt. Louis 
Celoron to the present site of Erie, Fa., with orders to proceed 
thence to the head of a small creek eighteen miles distant, and 
follow down its banks to the Allegheny river, and down this 
stream to the Ohio river, burying leaden plates along the route, 
as monuments of French possession west of this line. This done. 
he sent a letter to Gov. Hamilton, of Fennsylvania, to warn tlie 
English not to trespass beyond it. 

The same year, two more English trading posts were estab- 
lished in the West — one on the Great Miami river, called Lora- 
mie's store, and the other on the Maumee. 

♦This fort had been built by the French in 1731. It w?s within liie acknowl- 
edged limits of English territory, but had been held ever since by the French, as 
a standing menace to the Hudson river settlements, aggressive and defiant. 



78 The French Capture the English Trading Posts. 

The succeeding year, 1750, Christopher Gist, an intrepid fron- 
tiersman and surveyor, started on a tour of exploration from the 
head-waters of the Potomac, late in October. Pusliing boldly 
into the savage glooms of the forest west of the fork of the Ohio, 
he crossed the Scioto and visited the Indian towns on the Miami ; 
but he was not the first Englishman on the disputed ground. 
Oeorge Crogan and Andrew Montour, both celebrated for fron- 
tier accomplishments, were tlien among the various Indian tribes, 
to influence them in favor of the English and secure their trade. 
Mr. Gist conferred with both these men, who warned him against 
visiting certain localities where the French interest prevailed. 
But there was among the Indians a division of sentiment as to 
whose cause they should espouse in the coming issue,* and never 
were a people more perplexed to know on which side their inter- 
est laid. 

While Mr. Gist was making this tour, news came to him of 
the capture of several Englishmen by tlie French along the north- 
ern waters of the Ohio. 

On the Muskingum he made the acquaintance of a white wo- 
man who had been captured from the New England States at the 
age of ten years. She was now over fifty, the wife of an Indian 
and mother of several children. She had a vivid recollection of 
her childhood home, of the religious turn of the Puritan mind, 
and was much astonished at the wickedness she had seen prac- 
ticed by the white people when they came among the Indians. f 

Mr. 'Gist crossed the Ohio river and returned home, in May, 
1751, by the way of the Kentucky river settlements, which were 
then in their infancy. 

Early the next year the French visited the country in sufiicient 
force to capture the English trading post on the Miami. A des- 

Eerate defence, however, was made, fourteen of the assailants 
aving been killed. The traders were taken to Canada. Seve- 
ral English families lived at this post, which made it the begin- 
ning of a settlement as well as a trading post. The Twightwees 
or Miamis helped to defend the place, while the Ottawas and 
Chippewas assisted the French in taking it. 

While these acts of hostility were transpiring on the Miami, 
the Ohio Company were convening a council at Logstown with 
the Indians, for the purpose of confirming the old treaty of Lan- 
caster, by virtue of which large tracts of land on the Ohio had 
been ceded to this company by the Six Nations.:}: Through the 
influence of Montour, the treaty was reluctantly, on the part of 

* The Miamis or Twightwees were friendly to the English, and portions of the 
-Six Nations and Delawares, who had emigrated to the Ohio country from the East, 
t Journal of Gist, publislied in Pownall's Topography, London, 1776. 
X The treaty of Lancaster was a cession of Ohio lands to the English by the Six 
Nations, by virtue of their conquest of the tribes occupying said lands. 



Washington'' s Mission. 79 

the Indians, confirmed ; but the war which soon followed swept 
away all these distinctions as to land titles. 

The French, meantime, according to their usual practice, early 
in 1753 commenced building forts in the disputed territory. 
The first one, named Presque Isle, was built where Erie, Pa., 
now stands. From this place they cut a wagon road eighteen 
miles southwardly^, through the forest-, to a small lake near the 
present site of Waterford. Here they built another fort, which they 
named Le Bceuf ; thence, following down the stream of which 
this was the fountain-head, to where it empties into the Alle- 
gheny river, they built a third fort, which they named Venango, 
after an old Indian town on the same spot. These forts were on 
the same line along which Capt; Celoran had buried leaden 
plates tour years previously. 

Governor Dinwiddle, of the Virginia colony, always tenacious 
in the defence of English rights, beheld these French approaches 
to the Ohio with deep concern. Here was the pivot on which 
hung the fate of the West and the then limitless interior. To 
secure at least a foothold in it, he determined to send a messen- 
ger to the French, to warn them that the English claimed the 
country on the head-waters of the Ohio, and request them to 
leave it. 

George Washington, then twenty-one years old, was selected 
for this mission. He had eight attendants, the two principal of 
whom were Christopher Gist, the surveyor allready mentioned, 
and Jacob Van Braum, an intelligent German, who afterwards 
acted as interpreter at the surrender of Ft. Necessity. He left 
Wills Creek, the present site of Cumberland, on the 16th of No- 
vember, 1753. At Logstown dw^elt a famous Six Nation chief, 
named Half-King, who was a friend to Washington, and whose 
jealousy of the French made him an ally of the English. Deem- 
ing his counsel, and especially his influence, indispensable to the 
success of the enterprise, Washington proceeded immediately to 
his headquarters and obtained an interview with him. Whatever 
else may be thfe frailties of Indian character, hasty diplomacy is 
not one of them, as Washington learned. Three days of his 
precious time were consumed in attendance on his majesty. The 
ceremonials of the council over, Half-King entered heartily into 
Washington's plans, and, with three other chiefs, accompanied 
him to Ft. Le Bceuf, the headquarters of M. Le Guarduer St. 
Pierre, the commander of the French forces. 

Their route lay northward, through the forests, to the mouth 
of Le Bceuf Creek, now called French Creek, thence up its banks 
to Ft. Le Boeuf. On arriving at the place they met the com- 
mander. He was an accomplished and scholarly old knight, and 
notwithstanding the rustic appearance of the beardless youth be- 
fore him, who came with a message warning him to leave, he 



^0 The Perilous Return. 

received him with deserved attention ; for nobihty of character 
cannot be disguised by a rough exterior in the estimation of one 
who possesses it himself. During the two 'days Washington 
spent at the place, the hospitalities of the fort were extended to 
iiim with that hearty good-fellowship for which a 1^'renchman is 
conspicuous. 

As might be supposed, the mission was fruitless of results, for 
the French commander did not allow himself to lose sight of the 
interests of France, and, to that end, plied his arts of pleasing 
to Half-King also. « 

This was a matter of no small annoyance to Washinirton, 
whose apprehensions being aroused that he might win him over 
to the friendship of the French by the influence of his free wines, 
ho openly accused him of such an intention ; but the complacent 
diplomat silenced these charges with fresh sallies of politeness, 
and thus the matter ended. ^ 

When Washington was about taking leave, the generous 
Frenchman presented him a canoe well filled with provisions, 
among which the wine was not forgotten. 

Washington with Gist started down French Creek with the 
canoe, giving orders to Van Braum to meet him at Yenango, its 
mouth, with the men and horses accompanying the expedition. 
The canoe was now abandoned, Halt-King and the other chiefs 
wishing to remain here. Washington and his party took leave of 
them and started down the west bank of the Allegheny river. 

The poor horses were so spent with hunger and fatigue, that 
their progress through the trackless forests was slow, and Wash- 
ington determined to set out on foot in advance with Gist, and 
leave the emaciated beasts in charge of Van Braum and the rest 
of the party, to follow as fast as they could travel. 

It was now December, and the ground was covered with a 
sprinkling of snow; but both of the travelers were accustomed 
to "life in the bush," and, making light of their forest march, 
slept away each day's fatigue enveloped in their blankets, each 
night, in the open air of winter. 

On their way, at two different times, they encountered a ftiith- 
less Indian, whose pretended friendships were abruptly broken 
off by attempts to shoot them. Happily, each time, the ball 
missed its aim, though at one of these treacherous attacks only 
fifteen paces intervened between the savage and Gist, his intend- 
ed victim. This danger passed, they soon arrived at the place 
where they wished to cross the Allegheny river. Here they 
worked all day to make a raft, having only "a very poor hatch- 
et," says Washington, in his journal, to make it with. Just be- 
fore dark, they launclied it and started for the opposite shore ; 
but when the current was reached, heavy masses of ice came 
floatino; down stream with such force as to threaten to sink their 



I 




m 



411 



,UOUSTINE 



FRENCH &INDI AN WAH, 



*- 



i 1i''' ^» 



mf- 



'-sS^ 



' y--. 



i^''' 

m 



J/n/ix/i J'(i!iS>:';si(i/is,(<il(ir(tl Jtrd . 
I'rr/ir/i do (/a Yd low. 



■■II : 



Both French and English Forts Built. 81 

frail bark. To prevent this, Washiii_o^ton thrust out a setting- 
pole against the moving masses of ice, when, by some misdirect- 
ed strain, he was hurled into the water. He soon regained the 
raft, half-paraljzed by his wintry bath ; and now the problem 
was, how to gain the opposite shore. This was impossible, and 
they floated down with the current, till an island, desolate but 
merciful, caught them from the dangerous toils of the Allegheny. 
Here they spent the night. The cold was so intense that Gist's 
feet were frozen in the morning, and he could hardly walk. A 
solid bridge of ice had formed, over which they passed to the 
eastern shore, and the river was crossed. 

Washington now assisted his disabled companion along the 
rugged way, till the trading establishment of a Mr. Frazier was 
reached, a few miles below, and here they rested three days. 
Thence Washington proceeded to the settlements, reaching Wills 
Creek January 6th, 1754. 

The message he brought from the French commander, refus- 
ing to leave the country unless ordered to do so by the Marquis 
Du Quesne, Governor ot Canada, was handed to Governor Din- 
widdle. 

The latter had not been idle during the interval of suspense. 
He had appealed to Governor Hamilton, of the Pennsylvania 
colony, who in turn used his utmost exertions to awaken his con- 
stituents to the importance of the subject, and to this end sum- 
moned an extra session of the Assembly at Philadelphia ; but 
this body were divided in opinion as to whether the French were 
invading the country belonging to the English crown, and, un- 
der the inspiration of the teachings of William Penn and the 
Quaker doctrines of peace, suggested that the country in ques- 
tion belonged to neither tb 3 English nor the French, but to the 
Indians. This was the underlying sentiment by which supplies 
were withheld. 

The New York colony, though more remote from the scene, 
voted five thousand pounds. 

With the advice of the British Secretary of State, Governor 
Dinwiddle now determined to take decisive steps to secure a 
foothold on the Ohio by building a fort at the fork where Pitts- 
burgh now stands. 

It was proposed to raise two companies for this purpose, as 
volunteers, one of which was to be raised by Washington, and 
the other by a Mr. Trent, a noted frontier ranger. 

In the spring of 1Y54, the French hne from Presque Isle to the 
mouth of Le Boeuf Creek (French Creek) became a bustling thor- 
oughfare, along which French scouts with their tawny allies were 
constantly passing. Ft. Yenango was finished at the confluence 
of this creek with the Allegheny river early in April ; but while 
tliesft forest wilds gleamed with the glitter of French bayonets 



S2 The English Driven Away from the Ohio. . 

and echoed with war-whoops, a quieter and more enduring force 
was gathering to the rescue, from the Virginia frontier. 

Ah-eady the Ohio Company had sent a number of men to 
make a fort and settlement at the fork, among whom were a few 
families. 

This advance, consisting of a caravan of forty-one men and 
seventeen horses, loaded to their utmost capacity, had been met by 
Wash'lngton on his return. Meanwhile, the military spirit gath- 
ered force as the issue appeared to approach a crisis, and it was 
determined to raise six companies instead of two, and to give 
the chief command to Joshua Fry, an able officer, while Wash- 
ington was to hold the second. 

Thirty cannon and eighty barrels of gunpowder had been re- 
ceived from the king of England, for the defense of western 
forts. All haste was now made to send forward the forces in 
time to succor the little band who had gone before them, under 
Trent; but the heavy roads of spring and the Allegheny moun- 
tains, were barriers which bade defiance to speed ; and, while 
these preparations were on foot, a heavy French force, under 
Contrecoenr, glided down French Creek and the Allegheny riv- 
er, arriving at the strategic spot on the ITth of April. 

Here he found the Virginians scarring the leaf clad soil with 
the foundations for a fort. Trent had returned east to hurry 
forward reinforcements, and ensign Ward stood in his place. 
The little band obeyed Contrecoeur's summons to leave, backed 
up as it was by nearly a thousand bayonets. The men gathered 
up their camp equipage, during which preparation for their re- 
treat Ward took sup])er with the French commander, by special 
invitation. This over, the Virginians soon buried them- 
selves in the forest depths, taking their course up the banks of 
the Monongahela, and left the French masters of the situation. 
The latter immediately commenced the erection of a fort, which 
they named Duquesne, in honor of the Governor of Canada. 

Washington was now at the head of a small band of back- 
woodsmen, armed with axes, about to hew a path through the 
forest for the artillery to follow. The news of the surrender of 
Ward's company reached him at Wills Creek. Continuing to 
press forward, he reached Great Meadows, a place about fifty, 
miles east of the new French fort at the fork, on the i^Tth of 
May. 

A few miles west of this place, Mr. *Gist had settled, the year 
before, with the intention of making it a permanent home, and 
still maintained his position amidst the clamors of impending 
war. Hearing of the arrival of Washington, he visited his camp 
and gave him information of a body of French under Jumon- 
ville, stationed on the waters of Red Samlstone Creek, hard by. 

Half-King, the still faithful old Iroquois chief, at the head of 



Surrender of Ft. Necessity. '^'^ 

a few braves, also came and offered their services to Washing- 
ton. He was now far advanced into the wilds, with the Alle- 
gheny mountains between him and any hope of reinforcements 
or subsistence, with an enemy four times outnumbering his force 
ready to attack him ; but he hesitated not to commence the at- 
tack. Half-King led the way, and he surprised Jumonville, un- 
der cover of night, and took twenty-one prisoners after killing 
ten men, among whom was Jumonville himself. Washington 
lost one man killed. 

As might be supposed, this opening of hostilities inflamed the 
resentment of the French to the last degree, as the hrst acts of 
positive hostilities always are made the most of to tone up the 
vindictive spirit of the soldiery on both sides, in any impending 
war. The French called the killing of Jumonville assassination. 

Washington now held his advanced position, contenting him- 
self with watching the movements of the French, till the 28th 
of June. At this time, he was in Gist's house, and learning that 
a heavy French force were advancing against him, he commenc- 
ed a retreat. Having reached Great Meadows, July 1st, in con- 
sequence of the scarcity of provisions, he concluded to intrench 
hin)self and await an attack. On the 3d, the advance of the 
French were seen at 11 o'clock a. m., nine hundred strong. 

The positions of the assailants were quickly taken, and a de- 
structive tire was opened upon Ft. Necessity (the name Washing- 
ton had given his hastily-built stockade). The fire was returned 
with alfthe obstinate courage of backwoodsmen, but their be- 
siegers were beyond its reach, and the only effect it produced 
was to win the admiration of the foe. 

At 8 o'clock in the evening, while a heavy rain was pouring 
down, the firing ceased, and a signal for a parley was sent to 
the beleaguered camp from De Villiers, the French commander. 
Many of Washington's men were wounded and he was out of 
provisions. Surrender was therefore his only recourse left. 
The terms were generous and worthy the gallantry of a French 
captain.* Washington was allowed to depart with drums beat- 
ing, with the honors of war, taking everything with them except 
the artillery. He was to give up the prisoners taken May 28th, 
and no more fortifications were to be erected west of the moun- 
tains. Captain Jacob Van Braum and Kobert Stobo were to be 
given up to the French, as hostages to secure the fulfillment of 
the conditions. The campaign had miscarried and the French 
were now in heavy force on the headwaters of the Ohio. 

On the 4th of July succeeding, 1754, another convention was 



* De Villiers, who was brother of the slain Jumonville, said that, on beholding 
the wretched condition of Washington's men, after so desperate a defence, pity 
rliKarmed his feelings of resentment. 



S4 Peace Proposals fiom France. 

called at Albany, and commissioners from each of the thirteen 
colonies agreed among themselves on a general plan of defence, 
the Connecticut colony alone dissenting, Benjamin Franklin 
was the moving spirit of tliis convention, and proposed to curry 
the war into the interior with a vigorous hand. But nothing 
could be done to rescue the country occupied by the French till 
the mother country had declared her policy, by substantial aid 
to help beat back the French. 

Conscious that this would be done in season for the next year's 
campaign, Gov. Dinwiddie took no immediate steps to recover 
the lost ground on the Ohio, and, as a prudential measure to 
prevent rivalry as to rank among the officers already commis- 
sioned, when new volunteers should enlist, he reorganized the 
companies in service, so as to leave no officer in command of a 
higher rank than captain. Washington now sent in his resigna- 
tion and returned to his home at Mount Vernon. 

The Ohio frontier was now quiet. The Assembly of Pennsyl- 
vania were still firm in their policy of peace, but in the New 
England and New York colonies, a plan was proposed to seize 
upon Crown Point, but not attempted ; but the line of Kenne- 
bec, east of which was the French settlement of Acadia, was 
fortified. 

No declaration of war had yet been made. On the contrary, 
the English and French courts were, to all outward appearances, 
on the most friendly terms ; but both countries were preparing 
for war. 

January, 1755, opened with peace proposals from France, by 
which she offered, as an ultimatum, that the French should re- 
tire west of the Ohio and the English east of the Alleghenies. 

This offer was considered by England till the 7th of March, 
when she agreed to accept it on condition that the French 
would destroy all their forts on the Ohio and its branches. The 
French, after twenty days, refused to do this.* But while the 
fruitless negotiations were pending, both sides were sending sol- 
diers to America. 

♦ Plain Facts, p. 52. 



CHAPTER Y. 

General Braddock arrives in America — Plan of the First Cam- 
paign — Baron Dieskau reaches Canada — Braddock marches 
against Ft. Duguesne — His Defeat — Fxpeditio7i to Acadia 
— Shirley starts to take Ft. Niagara — Johnson's Campaign 
on the shores of Lake George — Defeat of Dieskau — Lord 
Loudon appointed Commander-in-Chief of the English for- 
ces — Gen. Moiitcalm appointed to command the French forces 
— English aiid French Policy and Diplomacy — Montcalm 
takes Oswego — London's Expedition starts to attack Louis- 
hurg — Ft. William Henry taken by Montcalm — London re- 
called and Gen. Ahercrombie put in his place — Loui^burg 
taketi by Adm,iral Boscawen — Gen. Ahercromhie attacks Ti- 
conderoga — Gen. Bradstreet takes Ft. Frontenac — Gen. 
Forbes'' Expedition against Ft. Duquesne — Mission of Chris- 
tian Frederic Post — Ft. Duquesne Evacuated and, taken pos- 
session of by Forbes — Gen. Abercrombie recalled and Gen. 
Amherst put in his place — Ft. Niagara taken by Gen. John- 
son — Ticonderoga and Croion Point Evacuated — Quebec ta- 
ken by Gen. Wolfe — Canada and the West given up to the 
English. 

The spring of 1755 opened with warlike preparations on a 
grand scale. Gen. Braddock had landed in Virginia on the 20th 
of February with two regiments, numbering 600 ouch. Alex- 
andria was his headquarters, and liere gathered the leading mil- 
itar}' spirits of the various colonies, prominent anionij^ whom 
were Dinwiddle ot Virginia, Shirley of Massachusetts. Johnson 
of New York (afterward Sir WilHam Johnson), and Benjamin 
Franklin of Pennsylvania. The approaching campaign was soon 
pliinned out. 

The lirst and most important thing to be done was to take Ft. 
Duquesne. This work Braddock assigned to himself Gen. 
Johnson was to attack the French posts on Lake Ciiamplain, and 
to Gen. Shirley was charged the reduction of Ft. Niagara, at the 
outlet ot Niagara river, on Lake Ontario, while Gen. Monckton 
was to invade French Acadia, in Nova Scotia. The three latter 
expeditions were to be composed of provincial troops, except a 



86 Braddock Crosses the Alleghenies. 

few British marines destined to co-operate with the land forces 
in the invasion of Acadia. 

The French had not been tardy in preparations for the war. 
Early in the spring, their forces, under command of Baron Dies- 
kau. reached Canada, and began to lay plans to defend the far- 
off wilderness posts which guarded the portals to New France. 

Braddock had distinguished himself as a tactician in English 
warfare, but his machine-like way of manoeuvring armies in Eu- 
rope proved ineffectual in the scouting style of warfare which 
the savages of America had long since taught both the French 
and the Anglo frontierers. 

At the first onset his captiousness was aroused by the difficul- 
ties in the way of getting transportation for the army, and, had 
not Benjamin Franklin come to the rescue, he might not have 
been able to begin his march till midsummer. Tlie place of ren- 
dezvous was the present site of Cumberland, where his army 
was gathered about the middle of May. Besides his own regi- 
ments, he was reinforced by two independent companies from 
New York, under command of Capt. Gates — the destined lierO' 
of Saratega — and the Virginia regiments originally under com- 
mand of Joshua Fry (now deceased). Washington, who had 
retired to private life at the close of the campaign of the previous 
year, was invited to take a position on his staff', and accepted it, 
under the title of C( loml.* 

They crossed the Alleghenies by the road which the Ohio 
Company had made two years before, and on the Sth of July 
reached the Monongahela, at a point but fifteen miles from Ft. 
Duquesne. This was the advance of the main bod}', consisting 
of the two Englisli regiments and a part of the Virginia forces, 
the lesser part of the army following after, by slow marches, 
with the heavy baggage, under command of Col. Dunbar. 

Contrecoeur, the commander of Ft. Duquesne, had been ap- 
prised of his approach, by means of his Indian scouts, and, 
alarmed at the formidable appearance and number of the inva- 
ders, thought only of flight, and for that purpose ordered out 
the boats, in readiness to descend the Ohio rivei-. But, during 
this trepidation, a bold counselor came to his relief, named Beau- 
jeu,f asking consent to waylay the English while yet in the 
thickets of the Monongahela. It was granted ; but to induce 
the Indians to enlist in the desperate entei-prise required con- 

* Said Benjamin Franklin to Braddock, on the eve of his march, "The only 
danger I apprehend, of obstruction to your march, is from the ambuscades of the 
Indians." "He smiled at my ignorance," continued Franklin, " and replied : 
'These savages may indeed be a formidable enemy to your raw militia, but upon 
the king's regular troops, sir, it is impossible they should make an impression.' '* 
— Antobiography of Franklin. 

t Vephew to him who, in 1685, had deserted La Salie on the con^t of Texas. 



His Defeat. ^7 

suramate skill in savage war practice. At first they flatly refus- 
ed, but appealing to their chivalry by saying he would go alone, 
they all followed him with a yell of admiration that toned up 
their confidence to the required pitch. 

Taking their course up the Monongahela, they soon drew near 
the locality of the destined ambuscade, when, with noiseless 
footstep, each proceeded to his separate place of concealment 
beside the road over which Braddock was soon to pass. At one 
o'clock, his advance, led by Col. Gage, (afterward Gen. Gage, 
of Boston memory), came within close range, when the silence 
of the forest was broken by a murderous fire into his ranks. It 
Fas returned with the usual courage of British soldiers, and not 
nthout effect, for Beaujeu was killed on the spot, Dumas, the 
.econd in command, now took his place. A tempest of bullets 
jiet the English in front and flank. Gage fell back, and although 
Sraddock, with the courage of a lion, dashed to the front, com- 
enanding order, confusion was inevitable. Three horses were 
ishot under him in this fruitless labor. No attempt was made by 
him to charge into the thicket which concealed the foe, but 
Washington, at the head of a few of his backwoods comrades, 
left their ranks and fought from covert positions, till a panic had 
siezed upon the English soldiers, and they fled in confusion. 

Here young "Washington won his first laurels. Ever in the 
front, he had two horses shot under him and some shots through 
his clothes, and at last covered the retreat of the British with 
admirable skill. Braddock was mortally wounded ; 36 British 
ofiicers were killed and 37 wounded, among whom w^as Col. 
Gage ; 715 privates were killed, or wounded. The French and 
Indian loss, all told, was less than 50. The fugitives made all 
haste to Dunbar's camp, where a da}^ of turmoil was spent in 
arranging for their long retreat. The baggage was set fire to, 
after reserving provisions enough to last them on their way back, 
and the discomtitted soldiers resumed their retreat to Virginia, 
there to tell the tale of their humiliation. 

"While this disastrous attempt to wrest the portals to the West 
from the French was in progress, far in the East, on the bleak 
coast of Nova Scotia, the New England plow-boys were striking 
a fatal blow against the French possessions of Acadia. This 
settlement had been made in 1604, three years before that of 
Jamestown. In 1613, it had been invaded by Argall, of the 
Jamestov^ai colony, and, from that day forward, an almost un- 
ceasing border warfare had existed between the English colonists 
and the Acadians, to detail which would fill a volume. The 
fleet entrusted with this expedition sailed from Boston on the 
20th of May, under the general command of Monckton, as pro- 
posed ; but the provincials, 2000 in number, designed as land 
forces, had been raised by John Winslow, of Massachusetts, and 



88 TheAcadians Transjported, 

insisted on being led by him, wbicb request was grantedby Gov. 
Shirley. 

The whole country belonged to the English by treaty stipula- 
tions, except Cape Breton island, but the Acadians had erected 
several forts within its boundaries, under the impression that it 
would ultimately fall into the lap of France. These forts were 
easily taken by the invaders, and Acadia became a conquered 
province. Nowcame the perplexing question, what to do with 
the inhabitants. Says Haliburton, "They were not British sub- 
jects, inasmuch as they had refused to take the oath of alle- 
giance, and therefore could scarcely be considered rebels. 
They were not prisoners of war, because they had been suffered 
for nearly half a cenutry to retain their possessions, and their 
neutrality had been accepted in lieu of their allegiance." With 
all, however, they were an offense to the New Enfflanders. 
Their civilization had been made of more elastic materials than 
the tight-twisted woof of Puritanism. Indeed, no great chasm 
need be bridged over between them and their red allies the In- 
dians, whom they had armed to fight the English colonists, to 
bring them together on a plane of equality. The colonists were 
full of bitterness against them on account of old scores, and now 
their day of vengeance had come. A proclamation was issued 
for them to assemble in their churches — men, women, and child- 
ren. The mandate was obeyed. A solid phalanx of soldiers 
environed them, and thence they were marched between two 
rows of fixed bayonets on board the English transports. The 
sails were spread, and the last sight of their evergreen shores 
soon vanished forever from their view, amid the smoke of their 
burning houses. The number thus taken was 7000. They were 
distributed among the English colonists, where most of them 
died from disease, but the last remnant of them, assisted by the 
Quakers, crossed the Alleglienies after the war was over, and 
floated down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers on barges, to the 
French settlements of New Orleans. Never were pilgrims 
treated with more compassion than they were by the generous 
inhabitants of the place. A tract of land was given them on 
the river bank, on which they settled, and some of their descend- 
ants still live there.* Whatever maybe the apology for this 
harsh decree, the maxim follows that — it is dangerous to be neu- 
tral. 

As might be supposed, the laurels earned by this invasion, 
tarnished as they were by its closing scenes, had no weight in 
the question at issue. The French held the West and every av- 
enue to it with a firm grip. 

After the Acadian expedition had got under way. Gen. Shir- 

* Charlevoix, Raynal, and Haliburton, are the authoriues from which this ac- 
count is taken. 



Dieskau Marches against Johnson. 89 

ley, in accordance with the original design of Braddock, set 
himself about raising new troops to operate against Ft. Niagara. 
It was late in the season before his army was ready to start, and 
by the time they had made their way up the Mohawk valley and 
across the wilds to the mouth of the Oswego river, it was late in 
the autumn. His route from this point was to be taken along 
the southern shore of Lake Ontario, b}'^ whale boats, but the 
lake was too boisterous for this. Here he waited thirteen days for 
the storm to abate, during which time his Indian allies, on whom 
he had placed great dependence for success, deserted, and the 
lake was yet too rough for safe navigation. The season was now 
so far advanced that he wisely deemed it imprudent to advance 
farther on a mission so dangerous, especially as the French and 
Indians were so elated with their victory over Braddock, that a 
countless host of savages would rally around their standard at 
Niagara. 

Before returning, he planned the construction of two forts to 
be erected at the mouth of the river, and left a part of his com- 
mand, under Gen. Mercer, to build and garrison them. 

We come now to the last of the four expeditions planned for 
the first year's campaign in the war, of which Gen. Johnson 
had the charge. 

At the southern extremity of Lake Champlain, a narrow but 
deep and almost currentless strait invites the boatman along its 
rugged curves, till he finds himself, after a few miles rowing, on 
the shining waters of Lake George. ' Its fern-clad headlands, 
now the study of landscape sketchers and the inspiration of po- 
«ts, have in times past been slippery with human blood, and 
every cove indenting its shore has been the hiding-place of war 
parties crouching for their prey. For a century, the war-whoop, 
the crack of the rifle, and the groan of the victim, were the oft- 
repeated sounds that rung from shore to shore over its ])lacid 
waters. At the head of this lake Gen. Johnson's army lay en- 
camped, leisurely making preparations to attack Crown Point 
on the west bank of Lake Champlain. 

Baron Dieskau had already formed a plan to make a descent 
on Oswego, but, learning of Johnson's intentions, he changed 
this plan and made a hasty march from the waters of Lake Cham- 
plain, through the forests which environ its south-eastern banks, 
with a view of surprising liim. On the 7th of September, news 
came to Johnson that the French were approacliins: the fort 
where Col. Blanchard lay encamped with his New Hampshire 
militia, on the banks of the Hudson, about thirty miles distant. 
The anxious hours wore on till midnight, when a message came 
in breathless haste, and informed Johnson that Dieskau was ad- 
vancing upon his camp instead of Blanchard's. A council of 
war was immediately held, and it was determined to send a force 



!)() His Defeat. 

of 1200 men, among whom were 200 Iroquois Indians, to meet 
him in the forests and check his advance, till fortifications could 
be erected. Early the next morning they took up their inarch, 
undei- Col. Williams, leader of the provincials, and Hendricks, 
chief of the Mohawks, leader of the Indians. An hour passed, 
and the sound of lire-arms, muffled through the forest toliage, 
came to the ears of Johnson and his men. It suddenly grew 
louder, which showed that the French were driving this advance 
before them. Another force, of 300 men, were sent to cover 
their retreat. At 11 o'clock, the defeated provincials began to 
return and gather within the frail defenses of Johnson's camp. 
Unfortunate!}', they had been waylaid, and many of their num- 
ber killed at the first fire of the ambushed enemy. But, not 
losing their discretion, they sent back many a fatal shot into the 
ranks of their pursuers, as they fell back. The Indians, in par- 
ticular, had distinguished themselves. Forty of their number 
had been slain, among whom was Hendricks, their distinguished 
chief. Col. "Williams was also among the killed. 

Except about 300 Indians, the whole of Johnson's army was 
made up of troops from the New England States and the State 
of New Yoi'k, quite unaccustomed to the dexterous art of fight- 
ing, while Dieskau's command was composed of French regulars, 
disciplined into measured evolutions by service on the Continent. 
Added to these, also, was the usual comjilement of Canadian 
Indians, whose war-whoop had often echoed through the forests 
of Canada to repel Iroquois invasion, or startled the lonesome 
borderers of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York, 
on scal])ing excursions. Before 12 o'clock, the gleam of French, 
bayonets threw its hostile glare into the open spot in the forest 
where Ft. Henry stood. So little time had been given for its 
construction, that its walls, which were made of logs, were 
scarce three feet high ; and, to accommodate themselves to these 
incomplete defenses, the whole army ])rostrated themselves on 
the ground, none of them daring to stand erect lest he should 
be a target for French bullets. 

Dieskan approached the place with a caution unusual to the 
dash of Frenchmen, and opened fire on it at a respectful dis- 
tance. This style of attack was well suited to the undisciplined 
soldiers of Johnson, inasmuch as it gave them time to tone up 
their courage. The attack was kept up till 4 o'clock, with severe 
loss to the French and but trifiii;g to tlie besieged. Dieskau's 
Indians had been startled from their lurking places behind such 
trees as still remained within range of the fort, by some well- 
directed cannon shots, and the fire of the French was weaken- 
ing. At this juncture, Johnson's men rose to their feet, and 
dashed against the French with an impetuosity which would do 
honor to veteraus. The enemv fled in broken ranks, and Dies- 



Loudon Appointed Comraander-in- Chief. 91 

kan was severely wounded in the vain attempt to rally tliem. 
Unable to follow his defeated soldiers, he was taken a pris- 
oner into tiie American camp. Johnson had also been wounded 
painfully, but not dangerously, and, while his wound was being 
dressed, Dieskau was brought into his presence. The shadows 
of evening were lengthening as the French fled into the forest 
by the way they had come. Johnson's men did not follow them, 
and the retrcaters traveled along the well-known way toward the 
banks of Wood Creek, where thev were to embark for Lake 
Chainplain and return to (Canada. 

While the battle at Ft. Henry was going on, a small band of 
scouts, consisting of j80 men from Col. Blancliard's New Hamp- 
shire regiment and 40 men from the New York regiment, left 
Ft. Edwaids and followed the track of the French army, as it 
had advanced in the morning toward Ft. Henry. At 4 o'clock 
the scouts came upon a camp in the forest, where the stores of 
the French army had been left under a small guard. These were 
easily dispersed, and the camp stores taken. Fluslied with this 
success, the scouts now determined to meet the entire French 
army on their retreat, and accordingly ambushed themselves in- 
their path. In the gray of the evening, the retreating French- 
men came up, but they were in no condition to renew a battle. 
They had been under lire since morning, while their new enemy 
was fresh, although but a handful, and they sent from their cov- 
ert a storm of bullets into the ranks of the already defeated fu- 
gitives, as they painfully toiled along tlie treacherous forest path, 
over which they had passed in the morning in confident zeal. 
A large number of the jaded Frenchmen were killed in the noc- 
turnal light, and their whole army fled in the utmost confusion. 
The Americans lost but six men.* The number engaged in the 
three battles were about 2000 on each side. The loss of the 
Americans was about 300, and that of the French double that 
number. f This brilliant feat of arms, closed the campaign of 
1755, which had opened with the appalling defeat of Braddock 
on the Monongahela. 

While the provincial troops were winning the first laurels of the 
war, the shattered remnant of Braddock' s army, instead of re- 
maining near the frontier to hold the Indians in check, had gone 
into winter quarters in Philadelphia, greatly to the disgust of the 
border settlers of Virginia and Pennsylvania, who were now ex- 
l^osed to the savage raiders, whose council-fires blazed under the 
French flag in the Ohio coimtry. 

Early in the s])ring of 1750, Lord Loudon was appointed Gov- 
ernor of Virginia and commander-in-chief of all the English and 

* Belknap's History of New Hampshire. 

t Johnson was baroneted and further rewarded with a gift of £5000 by the Eng- 
ish court. He was now Sir William Johnson. 



^2 Contingent Diplomacy. 

provincial forces in America. Gen. Abercrombie was appointed 
second in command. He arrived in America on the 25th of 
June, bringing two regiments with him, and made his headquar- 
ters at Albany, wiiere a respectable force of provincials from 
New York and the New England States were ready for his ser- 
vice. Loudon did not arrive till the 29th of the succeeding 
oionth. 

Gen. Montcalm had been appointed to take the chief command 
of the French forces, and had already arrived in the St. Lawrence 
with fresh recruits for the approaching campaign. 

Incredible as it may seem, no declaration of war had yet been 
made by either England or France, but both nations had been 
plying their seductive arts of diplomacy, never so sweetly, to 
secure alliance. France had positive purposes at which she aim- 
•ed, the chief one of which was to preserve her American pos- 
sessions, and the means to be used in the achievement of this 
«nd were definitely settled upon, which, in brief, were to attack 
the allies of England on the Continent, by which diversion New 
France in America was to be made invulnerable against her 
rival, whose strength must be largely occupied on the defensive 
at home. 

The ultimatum of England was not less clearly defined than 
that of France, but the means by which it was to be brought 
about were more complicated. The tenacity with which the 
American colonists had clung to their political rights at the Al- 
bany convention of 1754, as well as the able statesmanship of 
the Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania Assemblies, 
not always in harmony with the crown, had awakened a sense 
of caution in the English court, in their dealings with their 
trans- Atlantic children, and the question came to the surface 
whetlier it was better to drive France entirely out of America, 
or allow lier to retain enough there to become a rival to the Eng- 
lish colonists, and thereby insure their loyalty through their ob- 
ligations for assistance in defending themselves from the French. 
King George IL shared these apprehensions, while William Pitt 
had always been in favor of pushing the war in America without 
fear of adverse consequences. 

England and Russia had long been friends, and, as soon as 
war with France appeared inevitable, she made a treaty with the 
impress of Russia, by the conditions of which Hanover (Eng- 
land's ally) was to be protected by Russian troops in the event 
of a European war, for which service England was to pay her. 
This treaty bore date of September 13th, 1755. A few months 
later, both France and Prussia manifested dispositions to invade 
portions of Germany, the French incentive to which was to keep 
England busy at home, while she (France) made her American 
possessions secure, as already stated. The Prussian incentive, 



Oswego Taken. 93 

one historian was uncharitable enough to say, was Frederic's 
ambition to see his name heralded in the gazettes.* Russia was 
now alarmed lest she might be attacked by Prursia, and, con- 
scious of her inability to fulfill her treaty stipulations with Eng- 
land as to the protection of Hanover, she applied to France for 
the preservation of the neutrality of that electorate. These ac- 
cumulating evidences of the rising power of Frederic stimulated 
England to make an alliance with him, which was done January 
16th, 1756, although by this treaty the interests of Russia, as 
well as those of Hanover, were left unprotected. f The effect 
was to unite the interests of Russia with France, and also those 
of Austria with the same power, although the two had long been 
enemies. 

All this plotting and counter-plotting, which, by a paradoxi- 
cal combination, transposed the friendships and enmities of the 
great powers of Europe, grew out of the issue between England 
and France as to which should take possession of the Upper 
Ohio country, although the fortunes of war ultimately brought 
into question the patent to the title of Canada itself. It began 
in a land speculation of the Ohio Company, whose regal title to 
lands on the Ohio river was not honored by the French court. 

England was the first to throw off the plastic but already 
blood-stained shield of diplomacy and make an open declaration 
of war, which she did on the iStli of May, 1756. France re- 
torted in kind the succeeding month. 

While Gen. Abercrombie was wasting his time at Albany, in 
the summer of 1756, Montcalm gathered a force of 3000 French 
soldiers, with a band of Indians, and made a descent on Oswego 
in August. His heavy artillery soon made the place untenable, 
and Col. Mercer, its commander, secured a retreat from it across 
the river, into another fort. Here he was again attacked, but he 
defended the place with exemplary courage till a fatal shot killed 
him. His garrison attempted a retreat to another fort four miles 
up the river, under command of Gen. Schuyler; but the wary 
Montcalm flanked this movement with too formidable a force to 
make it possible, and the whole command of 1400 men were 
obliged to give themselves up as prisoners, together with a large 
quantity of military stores, among which, h(^wever, there was 
no powder, for the garrison had spent it in their defense. It had 
not been burnt in vain, as the loss of the French was a proof. 
Among the killed were 20 Indians, and, to placate their surviv- 
ing friends, as many American prisoners were given them to be 
killed, by the unscrupulous, not to say inhuman, leader of the 
French. The sick and wounded, among whom was Lieut, de 

• Secret History of the Court of Berlin. 

♦ SmoUet's Hist, of England, vol. 4, p. 178. 



'^^ Pitt made Premier. 

La Court, were scalped by the Indians, notwithstanding the 
terms of the surrender guaranteed their protection. 

This closed the campaign of 1756, with a decided advantage 
to the French and a prodigal waste of military force on the part 
of the English, which was attributable to the suspense which 
then hung over the political affairs of the English court. By 
this time, the popular feeling in England was in favor of pushing 
the war in America with vigor, and, against his hitherto declar- 
ed convictions, the king now saw the necessity of adopting the 
policy of Pitt. Accordingly, this eminent statesman was ap- 
pointed premier. Even at this early period, one of the founda- 
tion stones of American liberty was laid. The landed proprie- 
taries under the original Penn grant objected to have their estates 
taxed for the support of the war, and their influence was so great 
in the Assembly that Denny, the governor, dared not oppose 
them. On this account, oenjamin Franklin refused any politi- 
cal favors from him, but, on the contrary, wrote caustic articles 
against the sordid injustice of the proprietors. The policy of 
Franklin prevailed. The estates in question had to bear theii 
share of the taxation. Denny was recalled by Pitt, and Frank 
lin began to be looked upon, even in England, as a statesman of 
no ordinary capacity. In America, a universal applause greeted 
him. The Assembhes of'Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and 
Massachusetts, appointed him as their agent at the English court, 
and presented him five thousand pounds. Arriving in London, 
he sought an interview with Pitt, but that tenacious statesman 
forebore to let down the dignity of the British nation by holding 
a colloquy with an American postmaster. Tiirough his secreta- 
ry, however, he counseled with him in terms of high respect. 

Lord Loudon was at this time making himself conspicuous in 
America for his caustic criticisms of the provincial soldiers, 
while he was exhausting his resources, not in fighting the ene- 
my, lut in planning expeditions never destined to be executed.* 

Under his direction, the campaign of 1757 was opened b\ 
embarking from New Tork with a heavy force, to take Louia 
burg, which place he did not even attack, although his flee" 
came in sight of it, and contented themselves by giving its gai 
rison a scare. 

While this untimely scheme was in progress, the vigilant 
Montcalm appeared before Ft. William Henry, an important de- 
fense which had been built at the southern extremity of Lake 
George, near the spot where Dieskau had been deteated two 
years before. He had 10,000 men, consisting of regulars, Ca- 

* A Philadelphian said of him, " He reminds me of St. George on a sign-board, 
always on horseback and never advancing." In a speech he made at Boston, he 
attributed all the ill success of the English in America to the inefficiency of th»> 
provincial troops. — Graham's Col. Hist., vol. IV., p. 2. 



Ft. William Henry Taken. i*-"^ 

nadians, and Indians. About 2300 troops were all that could be 
opposed to this overwhelmino; force, 1500 of whom had just 
been sent by Col. Webb from Ft. Edwards on the Hudson river. 
While this reinforcement was marching into the fort, Montcalm's 
advance was seen approaching along the sunlit coast of Lake 
George, their burnished arms sending its flickering streaks of 
light before them, while the welkin resounded with a din of yells 
from his Indians, gaudy with feathers and darkened with war- 
paint. Col. Monroe held command of the fort, to whom Mont- 
calm sent a summons to surrender, ofiering him honorable terms, 
but Monroe, aware of the importance of the position, determin- 
ed to defend it. The attack commenced on the 3d of August 
and lasted till the 9th. The guns of the fort had nearly all been 
burst in their desperate efforts to repel their numerous assailants. 
Hemmed in on every side, his messengers, sent to seek relief 
from Ft. Edwards, had been captured, and his weakness thereby 
made known to Montcalm. To hold the place longer was impos- 
sible, and he surrendered. The garrison marched out with the 
honors of war, and were not to appear again in arms against 
France under eighteen months unless exchanged. They were to 
be protected against violence from Montcalm's Indians by a suit- 
able escort of French soldiers, on their way to Ft. Edward, the 
place to which they had been permitted to retire by the terms 
of the surrender. 

No sooner had they left the fort than the Indians began to 
gather'around them with no good intent. First they conunenced 
robbing the sick and wounded, and next the shining coats of the 
British regulars attracted their attention. These were pulled 
from their backs, and whatever of value could be found about 
their persons was taken. A carnival of blood followed, and sev- 
eral hundred of the unprotected captives fell victims. Jonathan 
Carver was among the prisoners, but escaped as if by a miracle, 
with the loss of his coat and covered with wounds. He says 
that, during the maddening career of butchery, the French sol- 
diers and ofiicers walked about outside of the bloody arena in 
careless unconcern, without attempting to stay the hands of the 
destroyers.* 

Not long after this atrocity, says the same author, the small- 
pox broke out among these Indians, who, tormented into deliri- 
um, threw themselv^es into the water to assuage the burning irri- 
tation. Death followed in almost every case, and a few mottled- 
faced savages were th€ only survivors of this tragedy which sent 
a pang of grief throughout New England and New York. In 
justice to the Canadians, it should not be omitted that some of 
them refused to celebrate the unhallowed victory. 

* See Carver's Travels, pp. 295 to 308. 



96 Expedition to take Louisburg. 

The fn2:itives who escaped the slaughter gathered within the 
walls of Ft. Edwards and thence made their way to tlieir homes, 
there to tell the tale of treachery and murder that liad stained 
the French faith, and a recoil of righteous indignation arose 
throughout the country. 

The statesmanship of Pitt had already infused its vigor into 
the heart of England, and now its vitalizing influence was about 
to cross the Atlantic. He recalled Loudon, and to Gen. Aber- 
crombie was given the chief command.* Next in rank was Ma- 
jor Gen. Amherst, and an additional force of 5000 men was put 
in the field, with which to open the campaign of 1758. 

Gen. Amherst, assisted by Admiral Boscawen, was to attack 
Louisburg; Gen. Forbes was to march against Ft. Duquesne; 
while Gen. Abercrombie took upon himself the task of driving 
the French out of Lake Champlain by an attack on Ticonderoga. 

On the 28th of May, the expedition against Louisburg, con- 
sisting of 12,000 British regulars and 157 vessels, direct from 
England, embarked from Halifax, the place of rendezvous, on 
the coast of Nova Scotia. The fleet soon arrived at the tangent 
point of land on the Island of Cape Breton, where the fort stood, 
amidst the noisy desolation of the winds and waves, like a polar 
bear disputing possession of an iceberg. f The entrance to 
its harbor was obstructed bv sunken vessels, while, far 
along the wave-beaten shore, the tri-colored flag of France waved 
in deflance from bastion and tower. In the face of these the 
troops must make a landing and fight their way to the rear of 
the town, over uneven ground afibi'ding shelter to its defenders. 
The charge of this difficult task was given to Gen. Wolfe, the 
sauie who, the next year, led the British troops up the Heights 
of Abraham. The soldiers threw themselves into their yawls, 
and labored at the oar through the surf to gain the shore, amidst 
a tempest of shot from its defenders. Many were thrown into 
the sea by the breakers, but the hardihood of the sailors finally 
prevailed, and a landing in force was made at the mouth of Cor- 
moran Creek, a few miles north of the place. Louisburg was 
now soon environed with heavy artillery, which poured hot shot 
into the town, and even set fire to the French war vessels in the 
harbor, burning all except two. To destroy these. Admiral 
Boscawen set on foot an adventure, which for daring has few 
equals in the annals of heroic warfare. Capt. Cook, the same 
whose wonderful vo3'ages, subsequently made, excited universal 
attention, was the one to whose charge the enterprise was confi- 

* The reason assigned by Pitt for this step was that he could never ascertain 
what Loudon was Ao\ng.— Graham. 

t This fortress was the great French depot for supplies, from which to reinforce 
the inland ports of New France, and its harbor was a convenient refnge for French 
war vessels. 



English Defeated Before Ticonderoga. 07 

ded. Under cover of night, at the head of 600 men, he silently 
rowed into the harbor, set fire to one of the vessels, and towed 
the other away. The English fleet now entered the harbor, and 
the town being at their mercy, Drucourt, its commander, capitu- 
lated on the 27th of July, and once more the key to St. Law- 
rence was given up to the English.* 5637 prisoners, 221 can- 
non, 18 mortars, and large quantities of ammunition, were the 
results of this victory. The war prisoners were sent to England, 
and the inhabitants of the town, 4000 in number, were, by the 
inexorable laws of war in those days, torn from their homes and 
sent to France on English transports. The defenses of the town 
were then demolished, and the place was left without a solitary 
inhabitant to mourn over its destruction. The Island of St. 
John shared the fate of Cape Breton Island, both of which fell 
under the flag of England at the reduction of Lonisburg. This 
was a grievous blow to the French of the St. Lawrence, as it 
was from here that they lai-gely drew their supplies to feed their 
soldiers, both beef and corn being exported from the fertile fields 
of St. John's Island, even in that early day. 

While the siege of Louisburg was in full tide. Gen. Abercrom- 
bie was marshaling his forces to attack Montcalm, who had 
strongly intrenched himself within the walls of Ticonderoga. 
Early in July, he embar-ked his troops on Lake George, consist- 
ing of 7000 British regulars, a part of whom were Highlanders, 
10,000 provincials, and a few companies of Indians. No less 
than 900 batteaux and 135 whale-boats were required for their 
transportation. Arriving within a few miles of the fort, the ar- 
my disembarked on the wooded shore and commenced their cir- 
cuitous route over hills and valleys shaded by a dense canopy of 
evergreen foliage. They soon arrived at an outpost of Ticon- 
deroga, which the French evacuated in hot haste and disappear- 
ed among the trees. The English kept on their course, but soon 
their guides became bewildered within the toils of the thicket, 
when suddenly they came in contact with the company of French 
soldiers who had just before abandoned their post at the approach 
of the English. They, too, were lost in the woody mazes, and, 
after a sharp skirmish, surrendered themselves as prisoners. 
From them Gen. Abercrombie learned that Montcalm had but 
6000 troops at the fort, he having lately sent away a detachment 
of 3000 men to invade the country on the Mohawk river, bui 
that this force had just been ordered back to assist in his defense. 
Abercrombie now resolved to assault the fort before their return, 
Accordingly, the regulars were ordered to charge against the 

* An expedition had been planned a'j;ainst the place by Gov. Shirley ten years 
before the war, when it was taken by New England troops, but restored again to 
France at the peace of Aix la Chapelle ; since which time the French had laid 
out thirty million livres in strengthening it. 



98 ^jf. Frontenac Taken. 

works, which they did with an exalted courage seldom witnessed. 
The place stood on a spit of land extending into the lake, the 
approach to which was over a neck of springj soil covered with 
trees. These had been felled with the tops pointing away from 
the fort, and covered the ground over which the assailants had 
to pass with a tangle of brush, 1800 of these brave soldiers 
were shot in the attempt to force their way through this abattis, 
when the retreat was sounded by the rash commander, and be 
returned to his camp on Lake George. 

Before marching on this disastrous expedition, Col. Bradstreet 
had been sent with a force of 3000 provincials, on a heroic ad- 
venture far within the enemy's territory, on their main line. It 
will not be forgotten with how much zeal Ft. Frontenac had been 
pushed to completion, in the early and ambitious days of La 
iSalle. Located at the point where the St. Lawrence outlets the 
waters of Lake Ontario, it commanded the communication along 
the great thoroughfare between Canada and the French posts of 
Ft. Niagara, Ft. Duquesne, and the Illinois country. If this 
place could be taken. Ft. Duquesne, toward which an expedition 
was now renewed by the English, could not be reinforced from 
Canada. Crossing the eastern extremity of Lake Ontario, Brad- 
street came upon the unsuspecting tenants of the fort, where a 
feeble garrison was reveling in a treacherous security behind its 
walls of stone. They surrendered without attempting a defense, 
and 60 cannon, 16 mortars, a bountiful store of merchandise and 
ammunition, to supply the necessities of the forts to the west, 
were the direct spoils of the victors, but 18 French war vessels 
on the lake were soon added to the list. Bradstreet destroyed the 
fort and returned with his force to Oswego, which place Mont- 
calm had evacuated soon after his victor}^ over Mercer. 

During the whole season, while the movements against Louis- 
burg, Ticonderoga, and Ft. Frontenac, had been going on, pre- 
parations for the attack on Ft. Duquesne had been in progress, 
but, ere it could be brought about, prodigious barriers of nature 
had to be overcome in crossing the mountains. 

The Pennsylvanians, more intent on their interests than the 
public weal, availed themselves of the opportunity to get a road 
cut from their frontiers to the west at the expense of the military 
exchequer. While Washington and the Virginians urged the 
advantages of the old road made by the Ohio Company six years 
before, and greatly improved by Braddock's engineers two years 
later, Gen. Forbes, who was the commander of the expedition, 
was prostrate on a bed of sickness, and to Col. Boquet, second 
in command, was given authority to decide on the choice of 
routes. His decision was in favor of the Pennsylvania route, 
and on this line the army took up its march late in July. Wash- 



Mission of Post. 99 

ington, who held a colonel's commission, now entered cordially 
into the work, and, as usual, took the front. 

While the axe is chopping a new path to the Ohio country for 
the bayonet to follow, we will take a glance at its tenants. 

The Delawares, whose home was originally on the Susque- 
hanna, had ever been at peace with the whites, till the outbreak 
of the war. William Penn, their loving father, had long been 
in his grave, and his mantle of charity not having fallen upon 
his successors, the Delawares had been compelled to give up the 
fairest portion of their lands.* But in the autumn of 1756, after 
more than a year of warfare between the whites and the Dela- 
wares, who still remained on the Susquehanna, some Quakers, 
whose broad-brims secured them a safe interview, succeeded in 
restoring the old chain of friendship. This renewed league, 
however, did not bind the Delawares who had been driven to 
the Ohio. These, with the Shawanese, Mingoes, and many oth- 
€r tribes, had been on the best of terms with the French ever 
Kincc the war had begun. But since the late English successes, 
the possibility of winning their friendship was considered by the 
English, and friendly messages were sent to them by the eastern 
Delawares. The French, meantime, began to send emissaries 
to the eastern Delawares, inviting them to join their brothers in 
the Ohio country, under protection of the lilies of France. Au- 
tumn was now at hand, and the army of Forbes was still toiling 
among the mountains toward the fatal fort, liable at any time to 
be attacked by a host of Indians, and the success of his expedi- 
tion seemed doubtful. In this emergency, it was deemed all- 
important to send an able messenger to the hostile tribes of the 
Ohio, to induce them, if possible, to forsake the waning fortunes 
of the French. 

Prominent among the Moravian (United Brethren) missiona- 
ries was a heroic apostle of their ancient faith, named Christian 
Frederic Post. This remarkable people dated their order back 
to John Huss, who preceded Luther a century. In 1732, they 
established a missionary station in the Island of St. Thomas. 
The next year they are found among the icebergs of Greenland, 
and the next in Georgia, teaching the savages the elements of 
Christianity. In 1730, they came to Pennsylvania and set up a 
tabernacle among the Delawares. So successful had they been 
here in converting the Indians, that the jealousy of the borderers 
was aroused lest the Bible and hymn-book should rival the whis- 
^.y'j"g- -Post was one of the foremost workers in the missionary 
cause, and consequently became an object of great aversion to 
the border ruffians. He was thrown into prison on false charges, 
and, when liberated for want of evidence, was set upon by a 

, I , ^ ^ ^ II <«•.. ■■■ 

* Doc, TTist. of N. Y., vol. II., p. 740. 



100 Ft. Duquesne Taken. 

mob, and narrowly escaped with liis life.* He it was who vol- 
unteered to be the bearer of an English message to the hostile 
Indians on the Ohio. 

He started from Philadelphia on the loth of July. A broad 
belt of debatable territory had to be crossed, which had been 
traveled only by scalping parties since Eraddock's defeat. On 
the 7th of August, he passed the French post of Venango un- 
harmed, as if a spell had been put upon its tenants. Arriving 
at the Indian town of Kushkushkee, he met 200 warriors, to 
whom he made proposals of peace. Their reply was as follows: 

'' Why do 3'^ou not fight your battles at home or on the high 
seas ? Your heart is good — yon speak sincerely — but there is a 
large number among you who wish to be rich. We do not wish 
to be rich and take away what others have. The white people 
think we have no brains. But remember, when you hunt a rat- 
tle-snake, perhaps it will bite you before you see it."t 

Passing on to Sunkonk, the Indians at first surrounded him 
with drawn knives, and the French oflfered a reward lor his 
scalp; but, fortunately, there were some Delawares present who 
had hstened to his preaching, a«d, through their influence, a re- 
action soon began to be manifest, insomuch that they asked him 
to read his message. While reading it, a French messenger 
came in from Ft. Duquesne with a belt. The English message 
had already won over the vacillating Indians, and they refused 
to receive the French token, but kicked it about as if it had been 
a snake, says Post's journal. A council was now proposed to 
be held. Accordingly, on the 24th, it met, and the place chosen 
for it was across the river from Ft. Duquesne, within the reach 
of its guns. Eight different tribes attended and made peaceful 
promises to the English, the French not daring to disturb the 
grave deliberations, though they dissolved their alliance with all 
the Indian tribes except the Shawanese and a few others. Post 
remained till the 9th of September, when he started on his re- 
turn. 

He reached Philadelphia in safety, and his journal was print- 
ed. All the while, Forbes' army was slowly advancing on the 
fort. On the 21st of September, a strong rcconnoitering force 
was sent forward under Major Grant. Arriving near the fort, 
they were defeated with a loss of 200 men. 

While Forbes' army lay encamped at midnight, but a few 
miles from the place, a deep sound came quivering along the 
ground. " Ft. Duquesne is blown up !" exclaimed the sentinels, 
as the distant explosion broke the wild silence around them. 
The army pressed forward with the first peep of day, when three 
deserters from the French soon met them and confirmed the sus- 



• Heckewelder. t Post's Journal. 



/Scene at Braddock'' 8 Field. 10 1 

picion , and without further opposition the smouldering ruins 
of the fort were taken possession of on the 25th of November, 
1758. Its garrison, deserted by the Indians, had fled, thanks to 
the hardihood of Post. A new fort was immediately built and 
named Ft. Pitt, in honor of the great premier, and 200 Virgini- 
ans were left here to stand guard over the English flag, which 
now waved in triumph for the first time in the West. 

Among both the English and. provincial troops composing 
Forbes' army were surviving relatives of distinguished persons 
filain in Braddock's defeat, and a desire to visit his battle-field 
and pay the last honors to their mouldering relics was manifest. 
Oen. Forbes, though an invalid and carried on a litter, entered 
heartil}' into this pious research, and gave the necessary orders 
for its execution under the charge of Capt. West, brother to the 
celebrated painter, Benjamin West. Besides his own company, 
a band of Indians, lately won over to the English interests by 
Post, were assigned to his command. Among these were seve- 
ral who had assisted in the slaughter. 

Major Sir Peter Halket, a member of Forbes' stafl*, had lost a 
father and a brother there, and from his description of their ap- 
pearance to the Indians, one of them assured him that he could 
point to the spot where they fell, near a remarkable tree. The 
expedition took up its march along the path through the forest 
that led to the fatal field, and the Indians, who were deeply im- 
pressed with the solemnity of the occasion, led the way with 
reverential footstep. When the field was reached, the search 
began around its environs. Skeletons were found lying across 
the trunks of fallen trees, a proof, in their imaginations, that 
they had died here in the lingering torments of mortal wounds 
and starvation combined. In other places, disjointed bones 
were scattered around, giving evidence that the wolves of the 
forest had claimed them as their share of the spoils. Following 
the Indians to the spot where Halket's father and brother weie 
supposed to have fallen, the Indian who saw them fall pointed 
out the crouching-place he had occupied during the battle and 
the tree under which they had fallen. Large masses of leaves 
covered the ground, which the wind had drifted over their bones. 
These were i-emoved, and two skeletons lay together, one across 
the other. Tenderly the Indians raised them from the ground, 
when Sir Peter Halket said, "My father had an artificial tooth ; 
examine his jaw." This was done, and there was the tooth. 
Sir Peter then exclaimed, "This is my father!" and fell insen- 
sible into the arms of his companions. A grave was dug on the 
spot ; the bones of father and son were placed in it ; a High- 
land plaid was spread over them ; they were covered with earth, 
and a salute was fired over their wilderness sepulcher. The In- 



102 Gen. Amherst appointed to the Chief Command. 

dian who pointed them out was not asked who was their execa- 
tioner.* 

We come now to the most interesting part of the war. Even 
as the whirlwind gathers force as it travels, so did the magni- 
tude of the issue in America enlarge as well as the national am- 
bition to circumvent the French. Whatever misgivings had 
ever existed in the English court as to the policy of driving the 
French out of Canada, now vanished in the broad path of nation- 
al grandeur, and it was detcmined to attack Quebec itself, to 
bring about what both England and America demanded, the 
complete expulsion of the French. 

In consequence of the reverse of Gen. Abercrombie before the 
walls of Ticonderoga, it was deemed expedient to supply his 
place with another general whose hold upon the public confidence 
had not been impaired by defeat. Gen. Amherst possessed these 
qualifications, and was promptly appointed by Pitt to succeed 
him. Under his guidance, the colonial States put forth renewed 
exertions to end the war by one more decisive campaign. Con- 
necticut raised 5000 men, among whom was Israel Putnam, des- 
tined to a lasting fame. Massachusetts raised 6500, and New 
Hampshire 1000. The numbers raised by other States were 
smaller ; but all the Englisli forces in the field numbered fully 
50,000, about half ot whom were British regulars and the bal- 
ance provincials, any and all of whom had mettle and endurance 
not to be questioned. 

Ere the campaign of 1759 could be opened, a wintry truce 
must intervene, chaining the hostile arms of both nations with 
icy fetters, while their respective armies shivered in their bar- 
racks, at safe distances from each other, b}' fitful turns killing 
the tedious hours with boister'^us hilarity or thoughts of home, 
of which none can think more tenderly than the volunteer sol- 
dier fresh from the cornfield. 

The English held the inside of the circle, or rather its segment 
commencing at Ft. Pitt, where a litle band of Virginians stood 
sentinels at the outer edge of the immense plains of the Missis- 
sippi valley. At Oswego, the army of Gen. Bradstreet were re- 
posing on their laurels, after their brilliant feat of taking Ft. 
Frontenac. At the head of Lake George rested the main body 
of the English and provincial soldiers. North of them were 
formidable bodies of French and Canadians entrenched, in con- 
fident security j^w^thin the walls of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 

Ft. Niagara was a post of great importance, and a respectable 
contingent of French soldiers now garrisoned its walls. The 
small stockades along French Creek had never been anything 
more than resting places for the French on their way to Ft. Du- 

♦ Gait's Life of West. 



Johnson'' s Victory at Niagara. l*^*-^ 

quesne ; and, as this place was now in the hands of the English, 
the French only held them with the hope of retaking this strat- 
egic point. 

While at these various places the armies of the two nations 
confronted each other during the winter, the salons of Quebec 
and Montreal were gay with Parisian elegance. The Frenchmen 
who could crowd the theaters of Paris during the throes of the 
French Revolution subsequent to this, were of the same spirit as 
these volatile Canadians, undisturbed as they were by the shad- 
ows of an English invasion hovering around their southern bor- 
der. All the while, visions of future grandeur rose before the 
eyes of the English, and a rare combination of fortuitous events 
was destined to verify them. 

Gen. Amherst was to attack the posts of Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point. Gen. James Wolfe was to lay siege to Quebec, 
and Gen. Prideaux, with Gen. Johnson as second in command, 
was to march against Niagara. This expedition started from Os- 
wego early in July, 1759, making its way in boats along the 
southern shore of Lake Ontario, where they landed without op- 
position at the mouth of Niagara on the 6th. The fort origin- 
ally built here by La Salle, in 1678, had been abandoned by the 
French in 1688, and again rebuilt by them in 1726, since which 
time it had been a menace to the Iroquois ; but to the western 
tribes it was a haven of promise, on which rested an assurance 
of protection from their traditional enemies. To the French it 
was second in importance only to Quebec, commanding as it did 
the channel of commerce, which was then carried on by canoes 
only, along the entire chain of lakes. No sooner had Gen. Pou- 
chot, the commander of the fort, learned of the approach of the 
invaders, than he summoned to his aid all the spare French 
troops from Detroit, Presque Isle, Le Boeuf, and Yenango, and 
as many Indian allies as could be induced to take up arms for 
the declining fortunes of the French. The number of French 
thus raided from the distant forts and the Indians combined was 
1500 ; but, ere they could gather within the walls of the fort, 
Joimson intercepted their path, and they were obliged to fight 
his army on an equal footing. This battle took place not far 
from Niagara Falls, on the east bank. D' Aubrey, the leader of 
the French, dashed against Johnson's well-trained army of pro- 
vincials and Indians, with desperate resolution ; but the fire they 
met was so fierce that it was like the surprise of a|Fambu8cade. 
D' Aubrey himself, with 17 officers, were taken prisoners, and 
many of the French soldiers, while their red allies Hed into their 
native forests to brood over their misfortunes. Gen. Prideaux 
was pushing the siege all the while, but was killed in the trench- 
es by the bursting of a gun, when the command fell upon John 
son, who, after his victory, summoned Gen. Pouchot to surrcn- 



i<*J: Gen. Wolfe befor^e Quebec. 

der. The summons was obeyed, and 607 officers and privates 
became prisoners. A large quantity of scalping-knives were 
amon^ the mihtarj stores taken. The prisoners were sent to 
New York, leaving behind them many a romantic reminiscence 
of a spot in which nature was so prodigal with her gifts, among 
which the dusky beauty of the forest was not the soonest to be 
forgotten by the gay French lieutenants. 

This blow effectually severed the line of communication be- 
tween Canada and the Mississippi valley ; but since the French 
had been driven from Ft. Duquesne, little remained then which 
could offer any serious resistance to the English, scattered as the 
forts were from Detroit to the far-distant post of New Orleans. 

While Johnson had been dictating terms to the French at Ni- 
agara, Amherst massed his forces at Albany, crossed Lake George 
with 12,000 men, and appeared before Ticonderoga on the 22d 
of July. He immediately began to plant his batteries; but, be- 
fore the place was environed, the French evacuated, blowing up 
their magazine behind them, and took refuge within the walls of 
Crown Point on the 27th. Gen, Amherst promptly followed 
them to their new retreat ; but, at his approach, they again fled 
down the lake, and entrenched themselves on the island of Aux 
Noix. The season was now too far advanced to continue opera- 
tions, and after som^e skirmishing, in which two P'rench vessels 
were captured. Gen. Amherst went into winter quarters at Crown 
Point. 

Gen. Wolfe was now before the walls of Quebec. Early in 
June, he sailed up the St. Lawrence with 8000 men, and made 
a landing on the island of Orleans, just below the city. He 
found it planted on the summit of a headland of rock, at the 
base of which the St. Lawrence, a mile wide, rolled along the 
surplus waters of the great lakes. Below, the St. Charles and 
Montmorenci, tributaries from the north, cleft to its base the ad- 
amantine bank on which the city stood. Entrenched behind 
earthworks, on the bluffs of these streams, rested the left v/ing of 
its defenders, the right extending to the city. Heavy forests 
extended far to the north in the rear, affording additional pro- 
tection. Above the city, the same bank held its undiminished 
height for miles along the river. Montcalm himself stood be- 
hind these defenses with 14,1'00 soldiers. Before going on with 
the progress of Wolfe, let us turn back to the days of Ft. NTe 
cessity. 

When Col. Washington gave up this fort, five years before, it 
will not be torgotten that Major Robert Stobo was one of the 
hostages delivered into the hands of the French. He was taken 
to Ft. Duquesne, where his ready adaption to his situation as 
prisoner soon won favor among the French soldiers, who have 
rrer been conspicuous in history for their magnanimity toward 



Stoho^s Captivity. 1<)5 

a fallen foe. Among tlie Indians who came and went to the 
fort without ceremony, was one named Delaware George, who 
had been a disciple of Post* on the Delaware river. Something 
an his companionship won the confidence of Stobo, and he 
sent the converted Delaware through the forests with a letter to 
Virginia, containing important information. Delaware George 
quietly left the place without exciting suspicion, and delivered 
the message. At Braddock's defeat, the document, with all oth- 
er papers of Braddock's, fell into the hands of the French ; but 
as no one at the fort could translate English, it was sent to Paris. 
Meantime, Stobo had been sent to Canada, and here the evidence 
of his spying message overtook him, on the 28th of November, 
1756. He was tried and sentenced to be hung, but the numer- 
ous friends he had made in Canada, particularly among the fas- 
cinating women of Quebec, came to his rescue, and his pardon 
was applied for at the French court. The king gave it, and 
once more Stobo was an honored hostage, thoug'h a prisoner. 
He soon afterward made his escape, but a reward of 6000 livres 
brought about his capture, which was effected on the banks of 
tlie Montmorenci, while he was looking for a boat in which to 
cross the St. Lawrence. This river crossed, he intended to pierce 
the hostile forests which intervened between Canada and the 
English frontier. After his unsuccessful attempt to escape, his 
I'onhnement became more strict and his health gave way. This 
misfortune redoubled the tenderness of his fair patron who had 
long befriended him. This true-hearted heroine now used her 
influence with Vaudreuil, the governor, to mitigate the severity 
of Stobo's conflneraent. Her plea was successful, and he was 
allowed to exercise on the ramparts, anywhere within the lines 
of the sentinels. Here he soon made the acquaintance of a Mr. 
Stephenson, a native of New Hampshire, who had been captured 
from the daring band of Rogers' Rangers. He was a ship carpen- 
ter, and being at work for the French in the shipyard, knew all the 
possible avenues of escape by boat. A plan was soon made up 
by the two to effect this, and, the first favorable opportunity, it 
was put in execution, by seizing a yawl and going down the St. 
Lawrence. Soon as his flight had been discovered, a reward 
M'as again offered for him ; but the rapid current of the river 
had left behind all danger of capture. 

( )ne stricken heart was also left behind, to whom his empty 
<;ell was a painful memorial of unrequited love. 

The adventurers, after great privations, reached Louisburg 
while Gen. Wolfe was there, joined his army, and were with 
him at the siege of Quebec. While this was in progress, Wolfe 
wished to communicate with Gen. Amherst, and Stobo volun- 

* See Heckewelder. 



106 Wolfe Defeated on the Montmorenci. 

teered to to take the message to him, across the country, whicli 
he succeeded in delivering at his winter quarters at Crown Point. 
This done, the hero proceeded to his old home in Virginia, 
where, on November 19th, 1759, the House of Burgesses voted 
him a bonus of £1000, besides full pay for his services during 
his eventful captivity.* 

The first place attacked by Wolfe, after landing, was the 
Heights of Point Levi, across the river from Quebec. This he 
carried with ease, and erected a battery on the spot, from whicln 
he opened fire upon the town, reducing the lower portions of it 
to ashes. Montcalm, trying in vain to dislodge the English 
from this point, conceived the idea of burning their fleet as it 
lay anchored below the city. A number of fire-ships were set 
afloat from above, to accomplish this design ; but the English 
sailors, by great exertion, managed to turn them aside, and they 
harmlessly consumed below. Wolfe in turn made a direct attack 
on the left wing of Montcalm's army, as it lay intrenched on the 
banks of the Montmorenci. A strong detachment of Highland- 
ers and provincials crossed the river in small boats, under cover 
of a fire from the ships, and, clambering up the steep bank of 
the river, made an impetuous attack on the French lines, but 
they were defeated, with a loss of 500 men. 

Tip to this time, no tidings had come from either Johnson or 
Amherst, although the French were well informed of what had 
transpired in the various theaters of the war, and an event soon 
took place which brought this information to Wolfe. At Cham- 
baud, a short distance up the river, the French had a magazine, 
defended by a small body of soldiers. Gen. Murray was sent 
to capture it, which being efiected, the prisoners taken gave the 
first news to Wolfe of the success of the English arms at Niag- 
ara and Lake Champlain. The season, however, was so far ad- 
vanced that no hopes could be entertained of assistance from 
either Amherst or Johnson, and, smarting under the sting of 
defeat on the banks of the Montmorenci, he wrote to the Secre- 
tary of State, informing him of his defeat and of the difliculties 
in the way of taking Quebec. A council of war was called ou 
the 3d of September, and by its deliberations it was resolved to 
transfer the operations against Quebec from the Montmorenci to 
the banks of the river above the town. The ill success which 
had thus far attended the enterprise had wrought upon the mind 
of Wolfe till he was prostrate on a bed of sickness; and, while 
in this situation. Generals Murray, Monckton, and Townsend, 
whom he had asked to propose some new plan of operations, 

* Until 1854, the British Museum was the custodian of Stobo's letters and man- 
uscript memoirs, and it was from Hume's letter to SmoUet that the editor who firs: 
published the substance of them, became aware of their importance. The nam 
tive was at that time published in Pittsburgh, from which this account is taken. 



The English gain the Heights of Abraham. 107 

suggested an attack from the Heights of Abraham,* in the rear 
of the city, possession of which was to be gained under cover 
of night. Wolfe consented, though difficulties apparently insur- 
mountable, stood in the way. The ascent up the rugged bluffs 
was almost perpendicular and their summits guarded by French 
sentinels; yet the desperate character of the enterprise, by dis- 
pelling suspicion from the French, might assure success, and or- 
ders were given for its execution. On the 12th of September, 
the English fleet moved up the river, several miles above the 
spot where the river bank was to be ascended. At midnight the 
small boats were lowered, 5000 soldiers stepped into them from 
the vessels, and silently floated down the current, lying close tO' 
the north bank. Several French sentinels had to be passed, but 
fortunately a Scotch officer among them understood the French 
language, and, when challenged, disarmed their suspicions by 
appropriate replies in good French. To the last challenge thus^ 
made, the Scotch officer's ingenuity in his reply was fully up ta 
the demands of the critical occasion, he having cut oft" further 
inquiry by enjoining silence lest the English should overhear 
them. By the last packet which came from England, a copy of 
Gray's Elegy, which had recently been published, was sent ta 
Wolfe. Deeply impressed with its poetic beauty, while silently 
floating down stream to the covef from which the army were ta 
scale the bank, he repeated to his companions one of its lines — 

"The path of glory leads but to the grave." 

"Now, gentlemen, I would rather be the author of that poem 
than take Quebec," said he. " Perhaps the noblest tribute ever 
paid by arms to letters, since that heroic era when hostile fury 
and havoc were remedied or intercepted by respect for the gen- 
ius of Aristotle, and for the poetry of Pindar and Euripides.":}: 
About an hour before daybreak, Wolfe was among the first ta 
leap ashore, when, turning his eyes upward to the shelving bank, 
he observed to an officer near him : ''I doubt if you can get up, 
but you must do what you can." Col. Howe, brother to him 
killed at Ticonderoga, led the v\ ay at the head of the Higliland- 
ers, and the whole army followed by a narrow path up the cliff, 
sometimes laying hold of the young shrubbery to facilitate the 
steep ascent. When the entire army had reached the summit, 
it was broad daylight. 

The astonished French sentinels quickly conveyed the inform- 
ation to Montcalm. At first, he would not believe it, but sup- 
posed the movement to be only a feint to distract his attention 
from the banks of the Montmorenci, where the real attack was 

* Graham's Colonial History, vol. IV., p. 49. 
fThis has ever since been called Wolfe's Cove, 
j GrahaD*^ 



lOS Wolfe's Victory and Death, 

to be made. Farther observation, however, soon dispelled this 
illusion, and he quit his camp, crossed the !St. Charles, and bold- 
I3' advanced to meet Wolfe and decide the fate of New France 
on the battle-field. 

At nine o'clock, on the 13th of September, 1759, 13,000 
French soldiers stood on an elevated plateau, facing 5000 Eng- 
lish soldiers. Not a ditch — not a ravine — not a hill, valley, or 
tree was there between them, to intercept the mortal tornado 
about to roll into the unprotected ranks of both armies. 

No human vision could pierce the future and bring to light the 
issue depending on tlie result of the battle. If the French arms 
had triumphed, the English must have fallen into their hands as 
prisoners, and Quebec have beei\ reinforced long before the ar- 
mies of Amherst and Johnson could have reached the place, and 
the French would have retained the valley of the Mississippi. 

On the other hand, the triumph of the English arms was des- 
tined to lead to events which, if then foreseen, would have dis- 
tracted the English army between contending emotions of loyalty 
and self-protection ; for on the result of this battle hung the des- 
tiny of a nation yet in her germ-cell — America. 

Montcalm advanced to the conflict and commenced the fire. 
The English waited till but forty rods intervened between them- 
selves and the advancing French ; the order to fire was then giv- 
en, and from their whole front a tempest of shot flew into the 
ranks of the French, directed by the aim of veterans. The 
French never recovered from the shock. It was impossible to 
"fill up the gaps made in their front ranks. They attempted to 
rally, but their lines wavered before the deadly aim of the Eng- 
lish, till they fled from the field, pursued by the Highlanders 
with broadswords. 

Early in the action, Wolfe had been wounded in the arm, but 
bandaged it with his handkerchief. Soon afterward he received 
a shot in his groin, but, concealing the wound, still pushed on 
his men, when a third shot brought him down. The command 
now fell on Monckton, who soon fell wounded, when Gen, 
Townseud took his place. 

Montcalm was mortally wounded, and nearly a thousand of 
his men had fallen, either killed or wounded. Death spared 
Wolfe till the shouts of victory ran through his lines — "They 
run! they run!" "Who run?" cried the dying man. "The 
French!" replied the officer on whose breast he was leaning. 
"Then I die happy !" said Wolfe, and ceased to breathe. 

Montcalm died the next day. The two commanders were 
buried beside each other, on the field where they had fought one 
of the decisive battles of the world. 

A third of Quebec had been burned by the fire of the English 
fleet. Gaiety and wretchedness were indiscriminately huddled 



Canada and the ^i^est given up to the English. 10{> 

together in squalid tenements; but still they must pack closer 
yet. The 50U0 English soldiers, less the Ht'ty killed in the bat- 
tle, must have room, and the 500 wounded soldiers must have 
lint and gruel prepared for them. These knotty problems were 
soon solved by the stern decrees of war, by which the city had 
been given up to the English. A recoil from the harshness 
of these decrees, however, now spread a luster over the scene. 
A mutual spirit of conciliation was moulded in every face. Eng 
lish and French vied with each other to assuage the calamities 
of war. The priests no longer prayed for the success of the 
French, or, if they did, the English cared little as long as the 
ensign of St. George waved from the watch towers, and the ut- 
most freedom in religious matters was granted — mere trifles in 
the estimation of the conquerors compared to the great ques- 
tion at issue. 

The fngitives of Montcalm's army had fled to Montreal, where 
a force fully ten thousand strong represented the forlorn hope of 
New France. 

Spring came. The snowdrifts of the St. Lawrence had melted 
into its turbulent current, bearing along its swollen waters releas- 
ed gorges of ice. While gazing at these, one day, the English 
sailors espied a man lying prostrate on one of them. The yawl 
was lowered, and the victim rescued from his perilous position, 
almost insensible from exhaustion and cold. When restored, he 
informed his new friends that he had fallen overboard from the 
French fleet, and, when questioned as to their movements, he 
gave such information as gave Gen, Murray no room to doubt 
that the French were about to make a descent on Quebec* 
Preparations were immediately made to meet the unexpected 
blow. One thousand of Murray's men had died with the scurvy, 
as many more were in the hospital, and he had but 3000 left. 
The attack soon came, 10,000 strong. A battle ensued, in which 
the English were partially defeated, but managed to retain their 
position till news came that an English fleet was sailing up the 
St. Lawrence, when the French retreated. ^^ ^ chance, this 
English fleet gained the mouth of the river ahead of a French 
fleet destined tor the same theater. A few months later, the 
English .armies, under Gen. Amherst and Gen. Haviland, ap- 
peared before Montreal. The place surrendered, and Yaudreuil, / 
the governor, gave up Canada and the West to the English, X 
September 8th, 1760. The war still raged on the Continent, and 
it was not till Febr-uary lOtli, 1763, that the detinitive treaty was 
signed at Paris. By its stipulations, everything east of the Mis- 
sissippi river, as far south as the southern limits of Georgia, was 
ceded to the English. 

♦Raynal, vol. VII,, p. 124. 



CHAPTER YI. 

RogeTB sent hy Gen. Amherst to take Possession of Detroit — 
He meets Pontiac on the loav — Holds a Colloquy with him — 
Detroit garrisoned hy the English., under Capt. Campbell 
— Discontent of the Indians — Alexander Henry arrives at 
Michilimackinac — Conspiracy to drive the English out of the 
Country — Detroit saved, from Massacre hy an Ojihway Girl 
— Is Besieged — Massacre at Michilimackinac — Narrow Es- 
cape of Alexander Henry — 8t. Joseph., Ouatanon, Miami, 
and Sandusky taken hy the Indians — Capture of the Batteau 
Fleet sent to Succor Detroit — Horrible Massacre of the Sol- 
diers — Detroit Believed — Arrival of Capt. Dalzell — His 
Disastrous Sortie — Desperate Defense of a Vessel loaded 
with Supplies — Pontiac retires to the Maumee Rapids. 

The French and Indian war began on the question as to who 
should own a bit of wild land drained by the tributary sources 
of the Ohio. 

The EngHsh went into it with tardiness, and the Americans, 
with the exception of the Virginia colony, with apathy ; not 
from any indisposition to sustain the national honor, for there 
was no such issue in the question. Each colony held its own 
respective territory, and could hardly be expected to fight for 
more, not knowing who might possess the prize if won. 

What had given the Virginia colony so deep an interest in the 
question, was the munificent donations of the lands on the Ohio 
to her subjects from the king. The recipients of these favors 
were the Ohio Company, prominent among whom were the 
Washington brothers, and this company had taken the first steps 
in the war by commencing the little fort at the fork of the Ohio, 
under Trent. 

George Washington struck the first hostile blow when he at- 
tacked Jumonville. Never in the records of nations did a great- 
er result grow out of an issue so apparently small. The magni- 
tude of the prize was an elephant on the hands of the victors. 

To the west were the forests north of the Ohio river, enriched 
by a thousand autumnal dressings of leaf-mould, through which 
unnumbered rivers and streamlets took their courses along val- 



Rogers'' Expedition to Detroit. 1 1 1 

leys of alluvium. Beyond these were oceans of prairie, luxuri- 
ant in grasses harvested each year only by the annual tires that 
swept over them. 

With the exception of the few French settlements mentioned 
in previous chapters, this immense country was a majestic waste, 
tenanted by perhaps one hundred thousand Indians. Most of 
these had always been the allies of the French, but such as were 
not had been forced into their friendship by the war. Now ev- 
erything was changed. To the English they must look for a 
supply of such goods as the elements of civilization had taught 
them the use of, and without which it was difficult to subsist. 
The trade in these articles, with furs in exchange, was now to go 
into the hands of the English ; but the first thing to be done 
was to take possession of such French forts as had not been 
taken by force during the war. 

These were Detroit, Sandusky, Michillmackinac, St. Joseph, 
iT-reen Bay, the cluster of French villages in the Southern Illi- 
nois country, Yincennes and Ouatanon on the Wabash, and Ft. 
Miami (in the Maumee, close by the spot where Ft. Wayne was 
subsequently built ; the whole containing a population not ex- < 
eeeding 6000 French inhabitants. 

On the 13th of September, 1760, three days after the surren- ^ 
der of Montreal, Major Robert Rogers was despatched by Gen. 
Amherst on this mission,* with a force of 200 chosen men, in 
iifteen whale-boats. His orders were to proceed to Ft. Niagara, 
where Maj. Walters, the connnander, was to deliver into his cus- 
tody a Mr. Gamelin,t a French prisoner taken at the surrender 
of that post. He was then to proceed to Presque Isle, and from 
thence, with a small force, across the country to Ft. Pitt, then 
under the command of Gen. Monckton. 

From him he was to receive such assistance as was necessary 
in the execution of the work before him, which was to take pos- ,' 
session of the posts of Detroit and Michillmackinac, and admin- 
ister the oath of allegiance to the inhabitants. This done, he 
was to return with his force to Albany, or wherever the head- 
quarters of the commanding general might be at that time. Ar- 
riving at Presque Isle on the 8tli of October, in accordance with 
these instructions, he left his command, and, with only three 
companions, pursued the well-known French trail to Ft. Pitt, 
where he was reinforced by a detachment of Royal Americans, 

* Rogers had served during the war in the capacity of a Ranger. His field had 
been on the frontier between Albany and the French forts on Lake Champlain, 
where his daring exploits at the head of his chosen band of New Hampshire pro- 
vincials, were the admiration of both friend and foe. He kept a journal of his 
adventures and wrote a book entitled " Concise Account of North America," 
published in London in 1765, which forms the basis of this account. 

t Mr. Gamelin subsequently became a resident of Vincennes, and acted as me- 
diator between the Americans and Indians. 



112 Pontiac Interviews Him. 

under Capt. Campbell. Returning to Fresqne Isle, lie received 
forty oxen from Col. Bryant, under charge of Capt. Monter, 
who, with the assistance of twenty Indians, was to drive them 
to Detroit, for the subsistence of the soldiers. About the first 
of November, the whole command embarked in their boats from 
Presque Isle. It was an English delegation, composed of Amer- 
icans, whose superior qualifications for such a dangerous adven- 
ture were apparent to Gen. Amherst. 

The western Indians had never before seen any other than 
Frenchmen, unless perchance some of them had been in battle- 
array against them on the bloody fields of the late war. As yet, 
the iEnglish flag had been saluted with yells of approbation by 
all the Indians the}' had met; but these first ebullitions of ap- 
plause from the red frontierers might prove but a snare to lull 
them into a fatal security when the interior was reached. But 
Rogers, bred among the wiles of frontier warfare, had measured 
its depths of dissimulation, and he was ready for an}' emergency. 

"While he is penetrating the country along the southern shore 
of Lake Erie in his little fleet of whale-boats, in his advanced 
path a savage hero lay, ruminating in his mind how to receive 
him. This was Pontiac, chief of the Ottawas. He was yet in 
the heyday of youth and strength, but a veteran in bush-fighting 
warfare. He had made himself conspicuous among tlie subtle 
spirits who had overwhelmed Braddock on the Monongahela. 
He had ever since been in the van of the war-path against the 
English, and his achievements had won for him a singular dis- 
tinction, which, by common consent, made him the acknowledg- 
ed* chief, not only of his own tribe, but of all the surrounding 
tribes, who looked up to him as their Moses. His summer res- 
idence was on Pechu Island, eight miles above Detroit, and in 
the winter he lodged in the Ottawa village opposite, on the Cana- 
dian shore.* As soon as he heard of the advance of the Eng- 
lish into the country, he hastened, with a few of his attendants, 
to meet them. The first interview was held November 7th, on 
the southern shore of Lake Erie, at its western extremity. Here 
Rogers, having entered the mouth of a small stream, moored 
his boats and encamped. An Indian deputation soon waited on 
him, requesting him to proceed no farther till- Pontiac, the king 
of the country, came up. Shortly afterward he came, and, at 
the first salutation, demanded how he dared to enter the country 
without his permission. In reply, Rogers informed him (with 
naive respect and dignity combined) that he had come, not to 
injure the Indians, but to remove the French soldiers of the 
country, who had hitherto been an obstacle to peace between 
the Indians and the English. This answer disarmed the chief 

*Lanman's Hist, of Mich., p. 91. 



Pontiao Conciliated. 113 

and modified his demeanor at once. Rogers next proceeded to 
inform him of the surrender of Canada to the English, which 
was news to Pontiac, though perhaps not unexpected from the 
ill success of the French since the lall of Niagara and Quebec 
several months before. 

On leaving, he told Rogers that if he needed anything his 
country could supply, he would send his warriors for it. He 
then took his leave, requesting Rogers not to advance farther 
till a council should be held the next morning. This opened as 
proposed — the peace-pipe was smoked, and Pontiac promised to 
protect Rogers on his way to Detroit. This promise he kept in 
good faith. Had he not done this, Rogers could not have readi- 
ed the place without a battle with the Indians, who, in heavy 
force, stood guard at the mouth of tbe river, to prevent his pas- 
sage. To these Pontiac gave orders to let the English pass un- 
molested, and, at the same time, ordered some of his men to 
assist Capt, Brewer along with the oxen driven from Presque 
Isle, oesides this act ot courtesy, he manifested a disposition 
to learn the elements of civilization, asking Rogers about the 
English method of disciplining their forces, and even inquired 
how cloth and iron were made, and offered to give him a part of 
the country if he would take him to England on a visit. This 
offer was accompanied with the conciliatory proposal of paying 
an annual tribute to the king of England and calling him his un- 
cle. These were the terms on which the English might be per- 
mitted to settle in the country and remain as long as they treated 
the Indians with respect. If they failed to do this, he should 
drive them out and ''shut up the door."* 

Rogers now resinned his march toward Detroit, taking care ta 
send Lieut. Brlieme, a French war prisoner, in advance, with 
the following letter to Capt. Bellestre, the French commander: 

*' Jb CapL Bellestre^ or the Officer Commanding at Detroit. 

*'Sir: — That you may not be alarmed at the approach of the 
English troops under my command when I come to Detroit, I 
send forward this by Lieut. Brherae, to acquaint you that I have 
Gen. Amherst's orders to take possession of Detroit and such 
other posts as are in that district ; which, by capitulation, agreed 
to and signed by Marquis de Vaudreuil and Gen. Amherst, the 
8th of September last, now belong to Great Britain. I have 
with me the Marquis de VaudreuiTs letters to you, directed for 
your guidance on this- occasion ; which letters I shall deliver to 
you when I am at or near your post, and shall encamp the troops 
1 have with me at some distance fVoiri the fort, till you have rea- 
sonable time to be made acquainted with the Marquis de Vau- 

♦ Concise Account 



1 14 Device of the Crow. 

dreuil's instructions and the capitulation, a copy of which I have 
with me likewise. I am, Sir, 

" Your humble servant, 

" ROBEKT EOGEKS." 

Continuing to advance, Rogers met a squad of Hurons, from 
whom he learned that Bellestre had detained the messenger sent 
with his letter, and intended to oppose his entrance into the 
town. 

In order to arouse a spirit of resistance among the Indians, he 
had erected on a pole an efiigv of Rogers, with a crow pecking 
pis eyes out, as an emblem of the fate in store for him if he at- 
tempted to enter Detroit ; but the Indians were skeptical as to 
such a result, and, notwithstanding the shallow device, accepted 
the wampum belt from Rogers, who represented, in their estim- 
ation, and correbtly, too, the rising star of power, to whom they 
must now look for favors. 

The impossibility of holding the town against the English soon 
became evident to the French commander, and he began to con- 
ciliate. First, he despatclied a messenger to Rogers with a let- 
ter, to inform him that he had put the inhabitants, and particu- 
larly the Indians, on their guard to prevent being plundered by 
tlie Indians who had joined the standard of the English, and 
also to preserve the English themselves from a like disaster 
when government of the town should change from French to 
English hands. Rogers replied as follows : 

"Sir: — I acknowledge the receipt of your two letters, both 
of which were delivered to me on yesterday. Mr. Brheme has 
not yet returned. The inclosed letter from the Marquis de Vau- 
dreuil will inform you of the surrender of all Canada to the king 
of Great Britain, and of the great indulgence granted to the in- 
liabitants ; as also of the terms granted to the troops of his Most 
Cliristian Majesty. Capt. Campbell, whom I have sent forward 
with this letter, will show you the capitulation. I desire you 
will not detain him, as I am determined, agreeable to my in- 
structions from Gen. Amherst, speedily to relieve your post. I 
shall stop the troops I have with me at the hither end of the 
town till four o'clock, by which time I expect your answer. 
Your inhabitants will not surprise me ; as yet I have seen no 
other in that position, but savages waiting for my orders. I can 
assure j^ou, Sir, the inhabitants of Detroit shall not be molested' 
— they and ,you complying with the capitulation, but be protect- 
ed in the quiet and peaceable possession of their estates; neither 
shall they be pillaged by my Indians, nor by yours that have 
joined me. I am, &c., 

"R. ROGEES. 

•'To Capt. Bellestre, commanding at Detroit." 



Detroit under the English Flag. 1 15 

Having despatcliod this letter, without waiting a reply, Rogers 
pushed his boats up the river, and landed within half a mile of 
the place. Here a messenger soon came to him from Bellestre, 
with his compliments, signifying that he awaited his orders. 
Lieuts. Lefflie and M'Corinick were now sent with 36 American 
troops to take possession of Detroit. 

The first item in the formula was to lower the French flag and 
elevate the English flag in its place. This was done, and a Durst 
of riotous applause rent the air from the gutteral voices of 700 
Indians, while the French beheld the humiliation with silent and 
painful emotions, such as have never yet been felt in the breast 
<if an American citizen: 

It was now the 29th of November, and Rogers, with his accus- 
tomed promptness, set about the execution of his still unfinished 
•work. The French militia were disarmed and the oath of alle- 
giance administered to them. The regular soldiers, with their 
commander, Eellestre, were sent as prisoners of war to Phila- 
delphia, under the escort of Lieut. Holmes and thirty men. 

A party of 20 men were sent to take possession of the posts 
of Ouatanon,* on the head-waters of the Wabash and Miami, at 
the bend of the Maumee. These had been the extremes of ca- 
noe navigation on the two rivers — a portage connecting them by 
a well-frequented Indian trail, which had been in existence from 
time immemorial. After the French had settled at Vincennes, 
this thoroughfare to the lakes became an important one to them ; 
hence the erection of the post of Ouatanon, at the head of canoe 
navigation on this stream. Ft. Miami was also designed to fa- 
cilitate the same end,f and its early possession by the English 
was necessary, in order to command the respect of the Indians 
and establish the fur trade among them along their liighway to 
the lakes. 

Capt. Campbell was now left in command of Detroit, while 
Rogers, with a small force, started toward Michilimackinac to 
■<?stablish the English standard at that important post. After a 
vain attempt to force his way along the icy and boisterous shore 
of Lake Huron, he was obliged to return to Detroit, and, on the 
iiiJst of December, started with a few attendants across the conn- 
try to Ft. Pitt, arriving there on the 23d of January, 1761. He 
passed through Sandusky on his wa}', says Perkins' Western 
Annals (p. Ill), but does not inform us whether he left a garri- 

* Rogers called this Gatanois ir. his Journal, p. 229. 

t According to Brice's History of Fort Wayne, p. 12, I't. Miami was built in ) 
1733. Volney, in his Researches, dates the building of Vincennes in 1735 ; but ', 
Law's date of 1710 is more consistent with 1733 as the date of Miami. Ft. Oua- 
tanon probably bears a similar date. Late researches by II. W. Beckwith, of Dan- 
ville, 111., show that it was built on the west side of the Waliasli, instead of he east, 
as indicated by the current histories. It is pronounced We-au ta-non. 



110 Michiiimackinac^ etc.^ tnken Possession of. 

son there or not. The next summer, Michilimackinac, Ste. Ma- 
rie, at the outlet of Lake Superior, Green Bay, and St. Joseph, 
were talcen peaceable possession of by a detachment sent from 
Detroit by Capt. Campbell. The French towns of Southern 
Illinois and Vincennes on the Wabash, liad hitherto been disturb- 
ed only by war's alarms from afar. Their country liad changed 
from French to English rule, but distance had yet and was still 
destined to give them a few more years under the lilies of France, 
though severed from the parent stem by the tornado of war, like 
a limb of a tree broken from the trunk. 

The Indians had always loved the French, because they met 
them on terms of social equality. Their ideas of chivalry 
were well suited to the savage imagination. Both were dashing 
and impetuous. A liberal sprinkling of blanched cheeks, whose 
mothers were the honored wives of Frenchmen, were so many 
pledges of that friendship which forest-life had charmed into be- 
ing. Before the Anglo-Americans and English had set foot into 
the great West, the French had been there a century, and, in- 
stead of attempting to deprive them of their lands, had often 
held out inducements to them to amalgamate the two races and 
inherit the country together. This course made any especial 
promise of friendship unnecessary, or, if made, gave it consist- 
ency. 

During the French and Indian war, both sides had vied with 
each other in their excess of zeal to preserve the rights of the In- 
dians. Unhappily for them, the side they had taken had been 
beaten, and now their first care was to set themselves right be- 
fore the conquerors, which accounts for Pontiac's assistance to 
Roo-ers in conducting him safely to Detroit. But beneath this 
friendly exterior there lurked, at least, doubt and misgiving, if 
not feelings of deadly hate. 

The English, on their part, had formed too low an estimate 
of the ability of the Indians to oppose them, in the event of hos- 
tilities. They had conquered them and the French Combined, 
and the savage, single-handed, was but a pigmy in their estima- 
tion. 

Under this impression, the English fur-traders hastened for- 
ward among the lodges of the wilderness, to renew the trade 
begun before the war, and appropriate that which the French 
had hitherto held exclusively along the lakes. With this intent, 
Alexander Henry started for Michilimackinac early in the spring 
succeeding the English possession of Detroit. Ere he had reach- 
ed Detroit, he witnessed abundant signs of discontent among the 
Indians. 

No pains had been taken by the English or Americans to win 
their favor by means of presents or those fulsome professions of 
good fellowshij) so essential to fill the measure of savage eti- 



Warning to the English. 117 

qnette. But these omissions were not the greatest cause of com- 
plaint. Blows had been inflicted on some of the Ottawas at a 
trading station, by some indiscreet traders,* for which indignity 
retaliation was only deferred. In consequence of these causes 
of disaffection, Henry was obliged to make his way from Detroit 
to Michi'imackinac in the disguise of French costume. Having 
reached his destination, he was soon waited upon by a tenacious 
advocate of Indian rights, supposed to be Pontiac himself, who 
addressed him the following terse words; 

"Englishmen, you know that the French king is our father. 
He promised to bo such, and we in return promised to be his 
children. This promise we have kept. 

" Englishmen, it is you that have made war with this our fath- 
er. You are his enen)y ; and how then could you have the bold- 
ness to venture among us, his children? You know that his 
enemies are ours. 

"Englishmen, we are informed that our father, the king of 
France, is old and infirm ; and that, being fatigued with making 
war upon your nation, he has fallen asleep. During this sleep, 
you have taken advantage of him, and possessed yourselves of 
Canada. But his nap is almost at an end. I think 1 hear him 
already stirring and inquiring for his children the Indians; and 
when he does awake, what must become of you ? He will de- 
strov you utterlv. 

" Englishmen, although you have conquered the French, you\ 
have not yet conquered us. We are not your slaves. These ' 
lakes, these woods and mountains, are left to us by our auces- 
lors. They are our inheritance, and we will part with theru to 
Hone. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, 
cannot live without bread, and pork, and be6f ; but you oughl 
to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has pro- 
vided food for us in these spacious lakes and on these woody 
mountains. 

''Englishmen, our father, the king of France, employed oa 
young men to make war upon your nation. In this warfare ma- 
ny of them have been killed, and it is our custom to retaliate 
until such time as the spirits of the slain are satisfied. But tha 
spirits of the slain are to be satisfied in either of two ways : the 
first is, by the spilling the blood of the nation by which they 
fell; the other, by covering the bodies of the dead, and thus 
allaying the resentment of their relations. This is done by mak- 
ing presents. 

"Englishmen, your king has never sent us any presents, nor 
ontered into anv treaty with us ; wherefore he and we are still at 
war; an'd until he does these things, we inust consider that we 

* Cass' Discourse ; Rogers' Account. 



1 1 S Indian Conspiracy. 

have no oihtc father or friend among tlie white men than the 
king of France. But for you, we have taken into consideration 
that you have ventured among us in the expectation that we 
should not molest you. You do not come armed, with an inten- 
tion to make war. You come in peace to trade with us, and 
supply us with necessaries of which we are in much want. We 
shall regard you, therefore, as a brother ; and vou may sleep 
tranquilly, without fear of the Chippewiis. As a token of our 
friendship, we present you with this pipe to smoke."* 

Matters went on during the next two years with increased dis- 
satisfaction. Frequent ominous rumors of Indian uprising had 
been current; but little importance had been attached to them, 
especially by Sir Jeffrey Amherst, who still held military com- 
mand of the whole country. 

During all this time, no definitive treaty of peace had been 
negotiated between England and France, and, through some 
dreamy illusion of the Indians, a pleasing theory had obtained 
currency that the king of France had been asleep, and the 
English had taken the advantage of his slumbers to con- 
quer the country — that he would soon awaken and utterly de- 
stroy the English. Fortified by their faith in this visionary hope, 
the Indians throughout the country north of the Ohio river and 
and east of the Mississippi, conspired with Fontiac to bring 
about this desired result. f 

After these alliances had been secured, he plied his seductivv> 

arts of diplomacy to the different tribes of the Iroquois, and 

iwon over the Senecas to his cause; but the other five tribes, 

owing to the influence of Sir William Johnson, remained true to 

the English. 

Some of the French residents, either through national pique 
to the English or pers'>nal attachment to the Indians, were fast 
friends to the latter, although the better portion preserved a neu- 
trality at least by mental reservation, as they would not have 

* Henry, p. 43. 

t Carver relates a phenomenon which, among the timoroiisminHed habitants 
of Detroit, foretold the Indian outbreak. It is worth recording lor its meteorolog- 
ical merits, if not its supernatural. It runs as follows : " In tlie year 1762, in the 
month of July, it rained on this town and the parts adjacent, a sulphureous water 
of the color and consistence of ink ; some of which being collected into bottles 
and wrote wiih, appeared perfectly intelligible on the paper, and answered every 
purpose of that useful liquid. Soon alter, the Indian wars, already spoken of, 
broke out in these parts. I mean not to say that this incident was ominous of 
them, notwithstanding it is well known that innumerable well attested instances 
of extraordinary phenomena happening before extraordinary events, have been 
lecorded in almost every age by historians of veracity ; I only relate the circum- 
stance as a fact of which I was informed by many persons of undoubted probity, 
and leave my readers, as I have hitherto done, to draw their own conclsisioas 
from it " 



French Population of Detroit. Uf* 

dared to oppose the schemes of Pontiac, had they been infonned 
of them. 

The Frencli population of Detroit at that time occupied about 
100 houses in the town and 50 farm-houses along the river, above 
or below it.* The walls of these were built with logs and the 
roof covered with bark or thatched straw. Their fences were 
constructed with pickets. Wheat was sowed in drills and culti- 
vated by hand. They had no potatoes till the English brought 
the seed. Their horses had been obtained from Ft. Duquesne, 
descended from the English stock captured from Braddock's de- 
feated army.f The Ottawas, Wyandots, and Pottowattomies, 
had villages close by, which, with the French population, gave 
to the place a metropolitan character, to which no other spot in 
the whole country could be compared ; consequently, its conquest 
was undertaken by Pontiac himself. But, before the first blow- 
was to be struck, a council was convened. This was summoned 
to meet early in the spring, on the banks of a small stream near 
Detroit. Here were assembled chiefs from all the principal 
tribes of the country,:}: each supposing himself to be sapient in 
the savage policy of the times ; but at that moment, could they 
have known the real power of the English colonists, they would 
have kicked the war-belt from their midst and flung them- 
selves at the feet of the English, claiming their friendship with 
the eloquence of savage metaphor. Of this, however, they had 
no conception, and entertained no doubt that they could kill otF 
the English garrisons in the entire country and bar the door 
against the entrance of any more. This was the aim of Pontiac, 
and it met the approval of his red brethren, without a dissenting 
voice in the council. Plans were laid to attack each English fort 
in the country at a coming change of the moon in the month of 
May. II 

True to the time-honored custom of Indian warfare, treachery 
was the chief instrument to be used in taking them. In the at- 
tack of Detroit, Pontiac's plan was to gain admittance to the 
fort with a chosen band of his warriors, under the semblance of 
friendship, and, at a given signal, fall upon the unsuspecting 
garrison with their weapons, which were to be concealed under 
their blankets, and kill them before they had time to seize their 

* Lan man's Mich., p. 98. 

t Manuscript Doc. of J. R. Williams; see Lanman's Mich., p. 99. 

JThe Ottawas, Miamis, Chippewas, Wyandots, Pottowattomies, Sbawanese, 
Outagamies, and VVinnebagoes, composed the council ; Init there were other tribes 
from remote places, as well as smaller tribes near by, who were friendly to Pon- 
tiac's cause, while it is evident that a few deliberate thini^ers had not full faith ia 
his schemes. 

II These consisted of Detroit, Michilimackinac, Ste. Marie, Green Bay, St. Jo- 
seph, Ouatanon, Miami, Ft. Pitt, Venango, Le Lioeuf, Piesque Isle, and Sandns 
ky. Ft. Niap^ara was not to be attacked, its great strength and remoteness beiti^ 
looked upon as insurmountable obstacle to be overcome. 



120 The Ojihxoay Girl. 

arms. The success of this undertaking required preparation. - 
Their guns had to be shortened bj several inches being. taken 
from the muzzles, in order to reduce them in length sufficiently 
for concealment under their blankets.* This was done with files 
and saws borrowed from the French inhabitants, who lent them 
these tools in ignorance of the purpose for which they were to 
be used. While this was going on, the Indians kept up their 
friendly visits to the fort as usual ; but one afternoon there came 
in a young Ojibway girl who had previously been employed to 
make a pair of Indian shoes for Major Gladwin, the commander. 
She delivered them to him. and the major was so pleased with 
the neatness with which they were made, that he proposed to 
her to make more of the same kind, and for that purpose gave 
her the remainder of the elk skin from which the first pair had 
been made. This done, he paid her for making the pair deliv- 
ered, and- dismissed her. Instead of directly leaving, the girl 
lingered about in a dreamy air of sadness, till she attracted the 
attention of the sentinels, who asked her the cause ; but she was 
silent. Meantime, her pensive mood did not escape the observ- 
ation of Gladwin. She was recalled to his presence, and reveal- 
ed to him the plans of Pontiac, under a promise of secrecy. f 

The next morning was the appointed time for the culmination 
of the treachery, and Gladwin set himself about the work of 
preparation to meet it. The strength of the garrison was about 
300, while double that number of Indians hovered around them, 
hungry for their blood. Every man was immediately placed un- 
der arms, in readiness for the expected visit; and, in addition 
to these precautions, says Carver, "he sent round to all the tra- 
ders to inform them that, as it was expected a great number of 
Indians would enter the town that day, who might be inclined 
to plunder, he desired they would have their arms ready, and 
repel every attempt of that kind." 

At an early hour the next morning, an unusual stir was appa- 
rent among the Indians, and, at ten o'clock, Pontiac himself, at 
the head of sixty chiefs, with wooden-clad immobility stamped 
upon their faces, approached the fort. The gates were thrown 
open and they entered; but what was Pontiac's astonishment to 
see the entire garrison armed with swords and pistols? He saw 
at once that his plot had been discovered, but, with complete 
composure, concealed the emotions that were inwardly cousum- 

* A French citizen named M. Beaufait had been shown a shortened gun and in- 
formed of the plot, in advance. He afterward assisted Pontiac by his counsel. 

t Carver, who visited Detroit in 1766, only three years after the siege, is the 
authority for this tradition of the Ojibway girl. Parkman quotes other traditions, 
attributing the disclosure of Pontiac's treacherous designs to others, but certainly 
«iih less plausibility; for who would be so likely to turn apostate to their own 
[>ciT>le as a young girl whose eyes might be dazzled with the glitter of epaulets? 



J^ailure of the Short Gun Conspiracy. 121 

ing him, and made a speech. The scene that followed is best 
described by Carver, whose words are here quoted : 



{(' 



The governor in his turn made a speech ; but, instead of 
thanking the great warrior for the professions of friendship he 
had just uttered, he accused him of being a traitor. He told 
him that the English, who knew everything, were convinced of 
his treachery and villainous designs ; and, as a proof that they 
were well acquainted with his most secret thoughts and inten- 
tions, he stepped toward the Indian chief that sat nearest to him, 
and drawing aside his blanket discovered the shortened firelock. 
Tliis entirely disconcerted the Indians, and frustrated their de- 



sign 



He then continued to tell them that, as he had given his 
word at the time they desired an audience, that their persons 
should be safe, he would hold his promise inviolable, though 
they so little deserved it. However, he advised them to make 
the best of their way out of the fort lest his young men, on be- 
ing acquainted with their treacherous purposes, should cut every 
one of them to pieces. Pontiac endeavored to contradict the 
accusation, and to make excuses for his suspicious conduct ; but 
the governor, satisfied of the falsity of his protestations, would 
Dot listen to him." 

Thus baffled in their attempt, Pontiac and his band left, and 
with a full appreciation of the courage of Gladwin, as well as a 
conviction that treachery could play no part in taking the fort. 
The next day, the first attack was made with great fury, but was 
repulsed by the well-directed fire of the garrison. The post was 
soon completely environed, and while the besieged are economis- 
ing their stinted resources to hold it against the audacious foe, 
the fate of the other English forts in the western wilderness will 
be told. 

The style of warfare practiced by the Indians, though sanguin- 
ary, was defective, inasmuch as they were ignorant of any meth- 
od by which to abridge private rights, even for the public good. 
Every one was his own master, amenable to no tribunal except 
public opinion. Against the French they cherished no resent- 
ments, and at first, with considerate charity, allowed them to 
take a neutral position ; nor did they object to their visiting the 
English forts, for the rights of neutrals, about which England 
and America have lately drawn hair-splitting theories, was a 
sealed book to their barbarous subtleties. This slipshod milita- 
ry practice gave the French who were favorably disposed toward 
the English an opportunity to do much to assist them. 

Aftei- the siege of Detroit had progressed a month, there came 
to the place a reverend Father from Michilimackinac, named 
JonoiSj who presided over a mission among the Ottawas at that 



122 Massacre at Michilimackinac. 

place. On his arrival, he first paid his respects to Pontiac, and 
the next day rapped at the gate of the fort. He was admitted ; 
Itiit he bore unwelcome news. Major Etherington, the comnian- 
*ler of Michilimackinac, had intrusted him with a letter to Glad- 
win, which he delivered. From it as well as from the worthy 
Father himself, who had been an eye-witness, Gladwin learned 
of the sad fate of Michilimackinac. The Indians had taken the 
post by stratagem, a game of ball being the instrumental means. 
First they obtained permission for a number of their squaws to 
enter the fort. These had weapons concealed under their blan- 
kets. The ball was then batted over the palisades of the fort, 
as if by chance, and permission being granted to go inside after 
it, a pack of savages rushed in at the opening of the gate. The 
squaws quickly acted their part in the bloody work, by passing 
their concealed weapons over to the warriors, and the butchery 
inside the fort began. At the same moment, the attack on the 
soldiers outside was made, where about half the garrison were 
watching the treacherous game. 

The whole number of the garrison was ninety-three, all told. 
About seventy were killed, and, vengeance being sated, the re- 
mainder became subjects of savage mercy. Major Etherington, 
the commander, some months before had been admonished of 
danger by a French resident of the place, n^med Laurent Du- 
charm; but, instead of heeding the timely warning, he snubbed 
the informant tartly, and thrr-atened to send the next otiiciou* 
bearer of such a message to Detroit as prisoner.* The self-reli- 
ant major was among the few spared, but his soldiers paid dear- 
ly for his impervious resolution. 

Alexander Henry, the trader already mentioned, then a resi- 
dent of the place, had been warned the year before of the upris- 
ing, by Wawatara, a Chippewa chief, who had conceived a strong 
friendship for him as the result of some lavor. This "spiritual 
seer" had received a message from the happy land, urging him 
to protect Henry and adopt him as a brother. He informed him 
of the revelation, and made him a generous present. Henry ac- 
cepted the fraternal tie, gave him a present in return, and the 
chief departed for his winter hunt. On the 2d of June, two 
days before the massacre, he nturned and urged Henry to go 
with him and his family to the Sanlt. Henry graciously declin- 
ed the invitation, when Wawatam left with his family, a few tears 
dropping from his eyes as he took his leave. f On the 4th of 
June, two days afterward, Henry beheld from the window of his 
trading station, his comrades shrieking under the strokes of the 
scalping-knife, at the revelry of blood of which Wawatam had 
warned him, when he fled from the place and took refuge in the 

* Smith's Wis., vol. I., p. 134. f Smith's Wis. 



Alexander Henry and Wawatam. 1 ^'Pi 

house of a Frenchman named Langlade. An inoffensive Paw- 
nee slave, unbeknown to the owner, secreted him in a garret. 
The infuriated Indians soon entered the very room he was in, 
but in their delirious excitement failed to discover him, packed 
away as he was among a pile of bark vessels; but the mistress 
of the household, on learning of his presence, feared the conse- 
quences of concealing him, and when she thought of her child- 
ren she no longer hesitated, but led the savages to the place of 
Henry's concealment. The wretched man was dragged out by 
a painted demon, who raised his weapen to kill him, but hesita- 
ted, and finally sent him away with a portion of the other cap- 
tives. 

The ultimate fate of all of them was yet subject to many ca- 
pricious conditions, all of which are related in Henry's Travels.* j 
Through the influence of Wawatam, Henry was saved with the 
rest, partly through the instrumentality of Indian eloquence and 
partly by means of presents ; but grave counsels were held as 
to the fate of the whole, and at last it was determined to send 
them to the French at Montreal, where they arrived in the suc- 
ceeding August, together with 17 captives from Green Bay, with 
Lieut. Gorrell, their commander. f 

Ere this, St. Joseph, Ouatanon, Miami, and Sandusky, had all 
been taken by the Indians, but, to the credit of the captors be it 
said, with less atrocity than had been practiced at Michilimacki- 
nac. From Sanduskv, the commander. Ensign Pauly, was taken 
to Detroit, where his manly form attracted the attention of a 
squaw whose husband had been slain in battle. In him the be- 
reaved widow beheld her consolation, and saved his life by mar- 
rying him — but he proved a faithless lover. Through the me- 
dium of a Frenchman, he soon sent a letter to Gladwin, and a 
few weeks later found means to desert his bride and take refuge 
in the fort. 

After the fall of Michilimackinac and Sandusky, Pontiac re- 
ceived reinforcements, and the situation of the garrison at De- 
troit became daily more critical, and the place must have fallen 
into the hands of the infuriated bands of Pontiac if some of the 
French inhabitants had not secretly, under cover of night, sent 
supplies to the fort to prevent starvation, which was now more 
to be feared than the attacks of the enemy. The fort was only 
a wooden stockade, made of piles driven into the ground, and lest 
it might be set fire to by the besiegers. Gladwin had, by means 

* This interesting pamphlet has been reprinted in several of the early histories 
of the country. 

•f Owing to the good offices of the Indians around the place, the whole garrison 
had been spared, they merely evacuating the post and joining Etherington in his 
captivity. The fort at Ste. Marie had been evacuated previous to the massacre 
at Michilimackinac, whither the fugitives had taken refuge, and perished at the 
massacre. 



124 Treaclierous Peace Proposals. 

of hot shot, burned every hut near it which might conceal an 
Indian. Pontiac, destitute of anything but small arms with 
which to breach its walls, again had recourse to treachery to 
gain it. 

When Kogers left Detroit in 1760, Major Campbell assumed 
the command, and retained it most of the time till Gladwin had 
been appointed to the chief command, while he held the second. 
During Campbell's administration, he had won the esteem of 
both the French and the Indians, and Pontiac sent him a mes- 
sage requesting him to come to his camp, and terminate the war 
by a friendly council. The message was brought by two estim- 
able French citizens, who, deceived by the fair exterior of Pon- 
tiac, advised the granting of the interview. Gladwin's consent 
was reluctantly obtained by the too confiding Campbell, who 
was willing to go; and, not without misgiving on the part of 
Gladwin, he went, accompanied by Lieut. "McDougaU. He was 
received with courtesy by Pontiac, but, contrary to his pledges, 
was not allowed to return except on condition that the fort should 
be given up.* McDougall made his escape, but the unfortunate 
Major Campbell, more closely guarded, was reserved for a cruel 
test of warring emotions, against which the world has put the 
seal of abhorrence. 

The time was now near at hand when the annual supplies for 
the western forts were due from Ft. Niagara, and Gladwin, in 
order to hurry them along, on the 21st of May sent the smallest 
of the two vessels which lay in the river beside the fort to meet 
them. Ere she had reached the mouth of the river, while lying 
becalmed, a fleet of canoes rapidly approached the vessel, iilled 
with Indians intending to board her and kill the crew. Lashed 
to the bow of the foremost was the unbappy captive. Major 
Campbell, who had been put there under an impression that the 
English would not fire on them, for fear of killing their own 
countryman. " Do your duty!'''' commanded the brave old offi- 
cer, f whose whitened locks lent pathos to the last order he ever 
gave to his soldiers. At that moment, a breeze filled the sails 
of the vessel, and she sped away, lifting a heavy burden from 
the hearts of the gunners, but reserving the noble captive for a 
cruder fate. Balked of their prey, the savages returned with 
their prisoner ; but he was soon afterward tomahawked by an 
Ottawa savage, in revenge for the death of an uncle killed at 
Michilimackinac. Pontiac was enraged at this base act, and the 
miscreant who did it fled to Saginaw to escape his vengeance. J 

Unremitting watclifulness on the ramparts, on the part of 
the inmates of the fort, and eccentric spasms of vengcfulness 

• Lanman's Mich., p. no. 

t Parkman's Conspiracy of Pontiac, vol. I., p. 26x. 

X Lanman, p. in. 



Capture of the Sujpply Fleet. 125 

on the part of the Indians, continued till the 30th of May, when 
a sentinel shouted forth tidings that the expected supplies were 
in sight coming up the river. All eyes were turned in that direc- 
tion, where the batteaux were visible in the distance, and a burst 
of exultation rent the air. As the batteau fleet drew nearer, the 
forms of the men became more visible. The rowers toiled along 
in silence, till a closer view revealed the painful situation. Lord- 
ly Indians stood erect in the boats while the English soldiers 
were rowing. In the foremost were three savages armed with 
tomahawks and four captives. Nearing the vessels beside the 
fort, they called out to the sailors for aid, and the three Indians 
who guarded them leaped into the water, one of them drao-gino" 
a soldier with him, both of whom were drowned in their grap- 
ples with each other. The three remaining soldiers in the bat- 
teau escaped to the shore under a hot lire from the Indians, both 
from the Canada shore and the batteaux, wounding one of .them.* 
All the while, the vessel discharged her cannon at the savages 
in the batteau fleet, and drove them back ; but they landed on 
the east side of the river, and took their captives, over sixty in 
number, to their camp above. The escaped captives, now with- 
in the walls of the fort, told the tale of disaster which had be- 
fallen them. 

Early in May, Lieut. Cuyler, with a detachment of Green's 
Eangers, numbering 97 men, with twenty batteaux, embarked 
from Ft. Schlosserf with the annual supplies for Detroit Tak- 
ing his course along the northern shore of Lake Erie, they arriv- 
ed at Point Pelee, just east of the mouth of the Detroit river. 
Unconscious of danger, they landed to gather fuel, when a band 
of Wyandots in the service of I^ontiac attacked them so sudden- 
ly that all but thirty, who escaped in their boats, were taken 
prisoners. To the inma-tcs of the fort at Detroit the fate of the 
thirty soldiers was uncertain, but a well-grounded hope consoled 
them that they would reach Niagara, the place from whence 
they had started, and give information of the catnstro])lio by 
which their attempt to bring relief had miscarried. Fortunately 
this was the case. They arrived safely at Ft. Schlosser, the 
place where the vessel lay at anchor which had been sent to meet 
them, but, passing them unobserved, had kept on her course. 
All haste was now made by Major Wilkins, the commander of 
Ft. Niagara, to send succor to the beleaguered garrison. Thirty 
soldiers were added to the thirty fugitives, and the whole em- 



* Of llie various versions of this encounter, the one bearin}^ the strongest marks 
of consistency lias been chosen. Cass is the authority for it. See Lanman's 
Michigan, p. ni. 

t Ft. Schlosser w.is only a sub-post of Ft. Niagara — a kind of starting-place 
above the Falls, for supplies taken from Ft. Niagara by a porterage around the 
Falls. 



126 Torture of the Captives. 

Taarked under command of Cuyler, who was one of those who 
had escaped. While they are pressing sail for Detroit, let us 
take a view of the situation there. 

The appalling spectacle of over sixty English soldiers being 
•dragged by the fort by the hands of the savages, was the dark- 
est iiour of the siege. Yells of delight burst from their throats 
^s they gathered them into their camp, determined to make the 
most of them in the way of revenge. First, the}' were stripped 
naked and set up for target practice with their arrows, in which 
the warriors indulged to their hearts' content. But the women 
and children must have a chance at them before the vital spark 
became extinct, and their flesh was punctured with the ends of^ 
burning sticks by these ingenious tormentors. The tomahawk 
and seal ping-knife finished up the unhallowed work. Their 
blood was drank as it ran in warm streams from their lacerated 
veins. Parts of their flesh were made into soup and eaten, and 
their bodies thrown into the river. 

The summer twilight had died away and the sentinels were 
pacing their nightly vigils, when two French inhabitants came 
to the fort and brought tidings of this massacre. The silence of 
death pervaded the place at its recital, till the silence was broken 
by speculations as to the time when relief could come. The 
next day the bodies of their tortured fellow-soldiers came float- 
ing down the river. 

Eighteen days of suspense now hung over the garrison, when 
a rumor came that a sail had been descried. This was June 
19th. On the 23d the news was confirmed by M. J^aby, a 
French inhabitant of Detroit, whose discreet friendship had al- 
ready rendered essential service to the garrison, without com- 
promising his influence with Pontiac. The vessel did not arrive 
till the 30th, so great was the caution of Cuyler, the commander, 
to avoid the toils and ambuscades of the Indians along the chan- 
nel of the river, as it curled among the cluster of islands just 
a,bove its mouth. Notwithstanding his caution, however, an at- 
tempt was made by them to board his vessel as she lay at anchor 
in the night, but an unexpected discharge of cannon and mus- 
ketr}' made them pay dearly for their temerity. 

The fort, now recruited with an ample store of provisions and 
sixty men, they could breathe freer. 

On the 23d of die previous month, Pontiac summoned a con- 
vention for the purpose of enlisting the French in his cause. 
According to the usual custom, mats were spread on the green 
fur the accommodation of the notables, who had been invited to 
take places of honor at the grave sitting. Said Pontiac, in his 
speech : 

"TJDtil now, I have avoided urging you this subject, in the 



Arrival of DalzelL 127 

Kope that, if jou could not aid, you would not injure us. I did 
not wish to ask you to tight with us against the Enghsh, and I 
did not believe you would take part witli them. You will say 
you are not with them. I know it; but your conduct amounts 
to the same thing. You will tell them all we do and say. You 
carry our counsels and plans to them. Now take your choice. 
You must be entirely Frei.ch like ourselves, or entirely English.^ 
11' you are French, take this belt for yourselves and your young 
men, and join us. If you are English, we declase war against 
you." 

To this argument the French replied that their king had tied 
their hands against injuring the English, when he njade peace 
with them, and, as a proof, produced a copy of the capitulation. 
" Untie this knot and we will join you." The perplexed orator 
was silent, but his unconquerable will won a few private recruits 
from the savage transcendentalism that always exists in border 
life, and constitutes a class defiant and aggressive, as it is regard- 
less of consequences. These neophytes in savage warfare were 
received with appropriate honors by Pontiac, who patronizingly 
extended his hand to them and presented the pipe with gravity, 
iind the council was dismissed. 

Pontiac next conceived the design of burning the two English 
vessels that lay beside the fort, by means of tire-rafts, and to 
this end tore down some stables belonging to the French, for 
materials out of which to make them. The rafts were freighted 
with a plentiful supply of tar and pitch, fired, and started afloat 
above the vessels, under cover of a dark night. When the bla- 
jiing crafts came toward the vessels they turned aside and passed 
harmlessly down the river, thanks to the preparations Gladwin 
had made for their not unexpected visit. 

On the 29th of Jul}', a"fresh arrival came to the fort. It con- 
sisted of 22 barges and 280 men, commanded by Capt. Dalzell, 
an able ofiicer who had been a companion of Israel Putnam.* 
Major Rogers was also one of the officers of the reinforcement, 
who commanded a few veteran Rangers, for which service he 
had attained a high reputation. Capt. Dalzell was for immedi- 
ately taking the offensive, and an expedition was planned to 
march against Pontiac's camp and strike a decisive and unex- 
pected blow. 

The following account of the unlucky sortie is copied from 
Lanman's Michigan : 

" On the morning of the 31st of July, about two o'clock, Capt. 
Dalzell, with a force of 247 men, marched up the Detroit river, 
toward Pontiac's camp ; while two gun-boats in the river were 

•Parkraaa's Conspiracy of Pontiac, vol. I., p. 308. 



128 Defeat at Bloody 'Run. 

pushed against the stream to cover the retreat and take off the 
wounded and dead. Information of this contemplated attack 
had been in some mode communicated to the Indians, and they 
removed their women and children, and prepared for the recep- 
tion of the British troops. A party of warriors was stationed 
behind the pickets upon a neighboring farm,* and another at 
[iloody Ryn, which is about a mile and a half from Detroit on 
tiie main road. Here they were concealed in the high grass be- 
iiind pickets and heaps of cord-wood. f The British party had 
reached the bridge, when a sudden and destructive fire was poured 
upon them from the cord-wood and the grass. This threw them 
into the utmost confusion. At the first fire Dalzell fell. The 
British fought with desperation, but were attacked on all sides, 
and a vigorous charge was made by the bayonet upon the posi- 
tions of the Indians; but a scattering fire was kept up by the 
savages from every place that could furnish them a cover. At 
length, finding that their situation was perilous, the British were 
ordered to retire, which was effected without serious loss, under 
the direction of Capt. Grant, aided by Major Rogers.:}: This re- 
treat was covered on the shore of the Detroit river by the armed 
gun-boats, and the whole party arrived at the fort about 8 o^clock. 
It was effected by driving the Indians from house to house and 
field to field, until a line of defense could be made toward the 
fort. In this action, according to the official returns, there were 
19 killed and 42 wounded. The place of its occurrence is called 
Bloody Run." 

Fontiac lost no time in sending the news of this victory to his 
allies fur and near, to rekindle the war-spirit afresh, and new re- 
cruits soon came in, sufficient to sup]jly the places of such as had 
deserted. Gladwin was therefore still forced to maintain a he- 
roic defense, without the least relaxation of discipline. They 
were ever on the watch, for but a brief cessation of their vigils 
might bring destruction to the entire garrison. 

As autumn drew near, Gladwin sent one of his vessels to Ni- 
agara for supjilies for the winter; and on her return, while lying 
one night in the river, only nine miles below the fort, a large 
body of Indians approached her in their canoes, and so dark was 
the night that they were close by before they were seen, although 
a vigilant watch was kept up. The order to fire was immediate- 
ly given, which was obeyed ; but the next moment the Indians 
were in the act of boarding the vessel. The crew, only ten in 

* That of Mr. Dequindre. 

f Consult Cass, Drake, and Thatcher. 

\ A bottle of brandy was at one lime sent to Pontiac by Col. Rogers, and his 
warriors cautioned him not to taste it, lest it might be poisoned. I'onliac, how- 
ever, rejected their advice. " He cannot lake my life," said the Ottawa chief;. 
"1 have saved his." 



GEN^ CLARKE /'/ 

GOV. ST GLAIR. 6EN.WAYNE 

GEN. HARRISON:. 




Peace Proposals. 329 

number, assailed them with hatchets and spears, killing them as 
fast as their heads appeared above the railing. Still, the In- 
dians, with desperate resolution, pressed against the deck of the 
little schooner with increased force, apparently determined to 
capture her at any sacrifice. Some of them had now clambered 
over the railing and already gained the deck, when the captain, 
wisely choosing death from explosion, to Indian torture, called 
out — "Blow up the vessel!" Startled at this desperate resort, 
the Indians leaped into the river, diving under the water as a 
screen from the expected flying missiles of the exploded vessel, 
while those in the canoes by her side pulled away in hot haste. 
The Indians, not caring to be blown to pieces, made no farther 
attempts to capture the vessel, and she reached the fort the next 
morning. The captain and one of the crew were killed and four 
others wounded. The six uninjured survivors, among whom 
was Jacobs, the mate, as they appeared before Gladwin to relate 
the circumstances of the encounter, bore the marks of its fierce- 
ness on their garments, sprinkled as they were with the Wood 
of their foes, while their spears and hatchets were stained like 
butchers' tools.* 

The season" was now so far advanced that that no farther sup- 
plies or reinforcements could be expected till the next summer, 
and the garrison must make the most of the provisions just 
brought them by the heroic crew, though barely suflicient to sus- 
tain them through the winter. Meantime, the Indians began to 
run short of provisions as well as ammunition, and of the new 
recruits who had recently swelled the ranks of Pontiac none re- 
mained through the winter, while most of those who had borne 
the brunt in besieging the place from the first, were compelled 
by necessity to take to the distant forests for subsistence. Some 
of these sent in treacherous peace proposals to Gladwin, who 
accepted them for what they were worth, but placed no confi- 
dence in their stability. Even Pontiac broke through the line 
of his incarnate hatred to the English, sent a peace message to 
Gladwin, and retired to the Maumee rapids to spend the winter. 
Comparative quiet thus restored, the garrison rested while they 
watched through the succeeding winter. 

*Parkman's Conspiracy of Pontiac, vol. I., pp. 320, 321. 



CHAPTER YII. 

J^t. Pitt Besieged hy the Indians — Fate of Ms. Fresque Isle^ 
Le BcBuf and Venango — Col. Bouquet marches to the Relief 
of Ft. Pitt — Battle of Bushy Bun — Gen. Amherst resigns 
his position as Gommander-in- Chief and Gen. Gage is ap- 
pointed his successor — Sir Wm. Johnson calls an Indian Con- 
vention at Niagara — Gen. Bradstreet marches to the Relief 
of Detroit — Col. Bouquet invades the Indian Country on the 
Muskingum River — Holds a Council with the Indians — De- 
mands the Rendition of Captives — Passionate emotions of 
forest life — Preliminaries of Peace — The army returns to 
the frontier settlements in Pennsylvania with 206 returned 
captives. 

On the head-waters of the Ohio the French and Indian war 
began. It terminated in Canada, as far as the French issue was 
concerned ; but the overthrow of the French armies brought the 
Anglo-Americans into close rehitions with the Indians of the in- 
terior, and on the head-waters of the Ohio the two rival elements 
met each other. Here stood Ft. Pitt, amid the desolations of 
savage warfare. To the west, a continent spread out its vast 
extent, yet unknown ; and even to the east, for one hundred and 
fifty miles, the savage foe had ranged the country in triumph, 
and killed or led into captivity the hapless settlers along the bor- 
ders of Pennsylvania and Virginia. More than a thousand fam- 
ilies had fled before these merciless invaders, to save themselves 
from the fate of the first victims of their vengeance. 

Capt. Simeon Ecuyer, an able oflicer, of Swiss nationality, 
held command of Ft. Pitt. Its garrison numbered 300 men. 
During the interval between the close of the French and Indian 
war and Pontiac's renewal of war on savage account, twenty or 
thirty families had settled around the fort, under protection of 
its guns ; but as soon as the war-whoop again rang through the 
forests, the few Indian traders of the Ohio country who had es- 
caped the tomahawk, took refuge within its walls, and with them 
the families adjacent.* 

• Loskiel, the Moravian historian, a co-worker of II ecke welder and Post, oa 
page 99, relates a plot of the Indians to capture the traders in the vicinity of San- 
dusky, which challenges a parallel for audacity. The traders were told that the 



Ft. Flu Attacked. 131 

On the 22d of June, the first attack was made, but was evi- 
■dently premature in its conception. The fire was kept up through- 
out the day and the succeeding night, killing two men in the 
fort. The next morning, a parley ensued, in which a Delaware 
chief, under the guise of friendship, told Ecuyer that all the 
western forts had been taken, and if he wished to save the lives 
of his soldiers, as well as his women and children, he must leave 
the fort at once and retreat to the English settlements; other- 
wise they would all be killed by the great army of Indians who 
were marching against the place. Ecuyer thanked the chief for 
his good intentions, to which he also retorted that as a friend he 
would advise him to instantly retreat into the forests, as a large 
English army were on their way to the place. This informa- 
tion, gravely told as it was, nonplussed the chief, and the Indi- 
ans betook themselves to the forest, thinking it might be true. 

Four days after this riddance, there came to the fort a fugitive 
from Presque Isle, bringing the first positive tidings of the pro- 
gress of the war. The place had been taken, and all but him- 
self killed, was the news he brought.* The same day, eight sol- 
diers, almost dead with hunger, came in from Ft. Le Boeuf. The 
whole number of their garrison was but thirteen, under charge 
of Capt. Price. They had defended the place with heroic .valor 
till its walls were* half consumed by the flames, when, by a se- 
cret exit, they made their escape under cover of night, unbe- 
known to the savages. Pushing their way down French Creek 
to Venango, with the intention of helping to defend it, they 
found the place already burnt to ashes, while the bones and half- 
consumed flesh of its garrison, which lay scattered around, ad- 
monished them of the fate they had escaped. Thence they con- 
tinued their course down the Allegheny river, and finally reached 
Ft. Pitt. " ' ^ 

The next day, two more fugitives came in, who had lagged 
behind for want of strength to travel, having been accidentally 
separated from their companions. The fate of the three remain- 
ing soldiers never became known. 

Ft. Pitt, now severed from all communication with the outer 
world, kept a vigilant watch for the foe, who was daily expected, 

tribes to the \yest were about to make war on the English, with the determination 
to kill every one of ihem. This fate could be averted if the traders would be- 
come their [irisoners, by which condition they could claim protection. Of course, 
their arms must be given up ; and, to make the deception complete, they had bet- 
ter be bound. The credulous traders consented, submitted their muscular limbs 
to the thongs of the savages,. when they were killed with little ceremony, and 
their goods taken. 

* This informer had fled before the fate of the garrison was known. Christie, 
the commander, was taken a captive lo Detroit, and soon escaped from custody 
and joined Gladwin. The fate of the soldiers has never been brought to light, 
leavmg little doubt that they were killed. 



i;',2 Second Attempt to take the Fort. 

but did not come till the 26th of July, when the adjacent wood* 
again became animated with warriors, tented outside of the 
range of its guns, hungry for revenge. Before commencing hos- 
tilities, they wished to hold a council. Shingis, the famous old 
Delaware chief, was the orator, and the following is a part of 
his speech : 

"Brothers, we wish to hold fast the chair of friendship — that 
ancient chain which our forefathers held with their brethren the 
English. You have let your end of the chain fall to the ground, 
but ours is still fast in our hands. Why do you complain that 
our young men have fired at your soldiers, and killed your cattle 
and your horses? You yourselves are the cause of this. You 
marched your armies into our country and built forts here, though 
we told you again and again that we wished you to remove. 

"My brothers, this land is ours and not yours. If you leave 
this place immediately and go home to your wives and children, 
no harm will come of it; but if you stay, you must blame your- 
selves alone for what may happen." 

Ten years before, he had conferred with Washington on this 
very spot, and had rendered him essential service when he came 
to warn the French out of the country. Since that time, how- 
ever,. Shingis had been forced into an alliance with the French 
by the war-cry of his tribe ; but since the peace with France, he 
had again been an advocate for peace with the English, but, 
withal, a tenacious defender of Indian rights. For this he chal- 
lenges our respectful memory. 

Ecuyer's reply to his inadmissible but not unreasonable re- 
quest (if the savages had not forfeited their natural rights), was 
unnecessarily harsh. He told him the forts were built for the 
benefit of the Indians, to supply them with clothing and ammu- 
■nition, and threatened to blow him to pieces if he ever appeared 
again before him. The chief, with accumulated feelings of re- 
sentment, left the council with Turtle's-Heart and his other asso- . 
ciates, and immediately set about environing the fort. It occu- 
pied a sharp tongue of land at the confluence of the two rivers, 
which unite here. Its walls had been built by Gen. Stanwix in 
1759, at so great an expense that it was regarded as a monument 
of British power in the wilds of America, worth commemorating 
in the archives of the British Museum, where drawings of it are 
still preserved. Of course, any attempt of the Indians to take 
it was rash ; but, nevertheless, they crept under its walls, along 
the river, in the night, buried themselves in holes in tlie earth, 
like ground-hogs, and kept up a brisk but ineffectual fire on the 
place for three days. Twenty of their number being killed, they 
withdrew in the night, and the serenity of the fort was again re- 
stored, as the last echo of savage bedlam rang from the high 



" Battle of Bushy Run. 133 

feank across the river. Only one man was killed lu the fort and 
fiix wounded, among whom was Eouyer slightly. 

To send an army to the relief of the place, but more especially 
to the relief of the border settlements, was the first pressing ne- 
cessity, and Sir Jeffrey Amherst, whose headquarters were still 
at New York, liad already set about doing this in June, the pre- 
vious month. He had formed too low an estimate of the power 
of the Indians for mischief, and had been slow in his prepara- 
tions to meet the emergency, but, fortunately for the country, 
the men employed in the service had made up in effectiveness 
for the tardiness of the commanding generaL 

To Col. Bouquet was given the ct)minand of the expedition for 
the relief of Ft. Pitt. He was an able Swiss officer, who had 
served during the French and Indian war. In accordance with 
his instructions, after leaving Carlisle, he took up his march for 
Ft. Pitt, at the head of 600 men. This place reinforced, the 
■whole Pennsylvania border would be rescued from the merciless 
forays of the Indians. 

On the 5th of August he arrived at a place called Bushy E.un, 
twenty-tive miles from Ft. Pitt, and a less distance from the fa- 
tal field of Braddock. Here he was attacked by an army of sav- 
ages, about equal to his own in numbers, and it is not too much 
to say that the annals of Indian warfare furnish no record of a 
more sanguinary battle. For two days the contest ' raged. 
<^harge after charge was made by the Indians and repelled, till at 
last the victory was decided by a reti-eat <>n the part of Bouquet, 
by which timely piece of strategy the Indians, in their headlong 
pursuit after wliat they supposed to be a defeated army, were 
brought within a fianking fire of Bouquet's veterans. A decisive 
victory followed, and Bouquet reached Ft. Pitt on the 10th, with- 
out further molestation. 

Never did the red cross of St. George shine with more resplen- 
dent luster than when, borne aloft by the trium^^liant victors, it 
suddenly emerged from the forest path into the open glade that 
environed the fort. The wounded soldiers were tenderly nursed, 
and the garrison felt an assurance that no farther trouble need 
be feared from the enemy. 

The next spring Amherst ^'esigned his position as commander- 
in-chief, and Gen. Gage, a more practical man, was his succes 
sor. Hawever well he was qualified to command large bodies' 
of men, he had failed in the njinor deta'ils of the late Indian cam- 
paign. 

While Gladwin had enough to do to keep his savage besiegers 
from breaking over his frail defenses at Detroit, Amherst had 
ordered him to garrison the forts that had been taken at Michil- 
mackinac and other places. He further showed his mistaken 
notions of the situation by offering a reward of one hundred 



134 Indian Council at Niagara. 

pounds to any one who would kill Pontiac. Instructions to this 
effect v/ere sent to Gladwin August 10th, 1Y63,* but there is no 
evidence that he ever fulfilled the indiscreet measure ; had he 
done which, the resentment of the Indians would have been 
stimulated to a higher pitch than ever. 

The borders of Virginia and Pennsylvania were still in the 
breach, and it was determined to send an expedition into the in- 
terior bejond the Ohio, to set at rest any future apprehension 
of invasion. The command of it was to be given to Col. Bou- 
quet. It was equally important to relieve Detroit, and an expe- 
dition was to be sent for that purpose, under Gen. Bradstreet. 

The mistaken policy of Gen. Amherst, by which he had re- 
fused the offer of provincial troops for the service, had been suf- 
ficiently demonstrated by the tardy progress of the war for the 
past year, and it was now determined by Gen. Gage to raise a 
sufficient force of colonial troops to make the two expeditions 
planned for the campaign of 1764 a success. 

On the 30th of May, the Pennsylvania Assembly passed a 
resolution to raise 1000 men ; New York was called upon for 
1400; New Jersey for 600; and New England for her propor- 
tionate number. Virginia was only required to defend her own 
borders ; but, besides doing this, she generously raised 300 men 
to fill the deficiency of Pennsylvania deserters from the rank* 
after her quota had been filled for Bouquet's expedition. The 
Quakers were the cause of this delinquency. They were in favor 
of conciliation with the Indians, rather than war; but at the 
same time there was a ruffian element in that State, whose per- 
sistent practice in the other extreme went beyond the bounds of 
humanity. Many peaceful Indians, against whom no evidence 
of disloyalty could be brought, had been murdered by these 
men.f 

Of the two expeditions planned for the campaigt\ of 1764, 
Bradstreet's was readv first. Late in June, at the head of ]20() 
men, he started from Albany ; thence up the Mohawk river he 
took his course, crossed Oneida lake, and went down the river 
connecting it with Lake Ontario at Oswego. From this place 
Ft. Niagara was soon reached. Here his boats were drawn up 
the bank, and the whole army tented under the friendly guns of 
Ft. Niagara. 

Sir William Johnson had summoned a grand Indian council to 
meet here, and the red delegations had already begun to assem- 
ble. Even to the far distant tribes along the upper waters of the 
Mississippi and on the Ottawa river of Canada, the trusty Indian 
messengers of Johnson had carried invitations to meet the Eng- 
lish Father at Ft. Niagara and listen to his speech. Had this 

♦Bancroft, vol. V., p. 132. fLoskiel ; HecVrwelder 



Bradstreet starts to Relieve Detroit. IBS- 

convention been called the year before, no notice would have 
been taken of it, and the messengers who carried the invitation 
would have been lucky to have escaped alive from the Ottawas 
or the Shawanese, and would have been received in no friendly 
manner by any of the western tribes ; but now the situation was 
changed. The war had been persisted in for over a year and the 
Indians were nearly destitute of ammunition, as well as such 
other elements of civilization as their fur trade for the past cen- 
tury had rendered indispensable to their existence. Under this 
duress, all the tribes of the country responded to the call, though 
the Ottawas, Shawanese, Ohio Delawares, and Senecas, came 
with reluctance. 

The object of the council was to secure the friendship and con- 
fidence of such as were wavering in their loyalty to Pontiae, and 
these now constituted the majority of the entire Indian popula- 
tion. Over two thousand warriors were present, all told. To 
each tribe. Sir William, with consummate skill, addressed a few 
words, calculated to turn their wills in favor of the English. A 
judicious distribution of presents and a moderate dispensation 
of tobacco and whisky did the rest. All that was expected now 
being accomplished, the different delegations separately with- 
drew, and the tumult that had reigned around Niagara for weeks 
fiinaliy died away, as the last savage band took up their march 
for their distant lodges in the wilderness, each with an increased 
respect for the English. 

The way was now clear for the advance of Gen. Bradstreet's 
army, and, reinforced by 200 friendly Indians and a few compa- 
nies of Canadian French, he embarked from Ft. Schlosser, above 
the Falls, on the 8th of August.* Coasting along the southern 
shore of Lake Erie, in accordance with his instructions from 
Gen. Gage to act against the Ohio Indians, he first landed at 
Presque Isle. Here a delegation of Shawanese and Delawares 
came to his camp with peace proposals. The occasion was un- 
timely for a treaty, and the little band who proposed it by no 
means represented the policy of their tribes. Bradstreet, how- 
ever, waived the ordinary conventionalities of savage diplomacy 
and made a treaty with them, based on the conditions that they 
should deliver up their captives. No harm could have come 
from this, had the conditions been fulfilled ; but on the arrival 
of Bradstreet at Sandusky, the place assigned for the delivery 
of the captives, instead of doing this, the wily redskins amused 
him further by promising to conclude a definite treaty on his ar- 
rival at Detroit. By this clever ruse, the Ohio tribes had avert-, 
ed the vengeance of the English for a time ; but ere long they 

* Alexander Henry had Ijeen redeemed with other captives, after being taken 
to Montreal, joined Bradstreet's army at Niagara, and returned as far as Detroit 
with him. 



V66 Peace Council at Detroit. 

were destined to answer to another officer, and be forced to ful- 
fill the conditions which as vet thev had evaded. 

The summer was now well-nigh spent, and Bradstreet took his 
departure from Sandusky, and, continuing his ceurse along the 
lake shore, arrived at Detroit, his final destination, on the 26th 
of August, His force was too formidable for even the most hos- 
tile Indians to think of attacking, and his passage up the river 
was greeted with cheers from the Wyandots, who, the year be- 
fore, had taken sixty captives from Cuj'ler's detachment, and 
had doubtless eaten their full share of the soup made of their 
flesh ; but now they were ready to make peace, not because they 
were at heart better reconciled to the English, but because they 
were unable to protract the war for want of means. 

The garrison were in transports as boat after boat pulled up 
to the landing opposite the fort, to supply their places with fresh 
men. The tedium of fifteen months isolation from the freedom 
of the surrounding country was now relieved. Confinement, 
even in a palace filled with luxuries, soon becomes irksome. 
The glitter of its garnished walls palls upon the senses — the 
bounties of the board cloy the appetite — elastic cushions lose 
their comfort — and downy beds refuse rest. How, then, must 
the heart of the soldier rebound when released from his pent-up 
and comfortless barracks, and he is again allowed to go forth 
without the fear of being shot by the first one he meets? 

After the first efi'usion of military courtesies was over. Brad- 
street set about the business of the campaign ; but,' in truth, 
there was little to be accomplished. Pontiac, the moving spirit 
of the war, was at the Maumee liapids, surrounded by a sort of 
forlorn hope of unrelenting spirits like himself, who were not 
yet cultured into a submissive frame of mind. The year be- 
fore. Pontiac's' confidence in the ability of the Indians to drive 
the English out of the country was unshaken ; now he was a fu- 
gitive, and time was required to make a bridge of reconciliation 
over the intervening chasm — or, in other words, to come down 
to tlie practicable, and make the best of the situation. As he 
could not yet do this, he refused to attend a council to which he 
had been invited by Bradstreet, to be held at Detroit on the 10th 
of September. The Ottawas were, however, represented by 
Wasson, the chief who, in a fit of revenge, had slain the estim- 
able Col. Campbell the previous year. The other belligerent 
tribes, except the Delawares and Shawanese, were represented 
by their respective chiefs ; but the convention, lacking the true 
Indian spirit of reciprocity, was a tame aflair. 

Bradstreet demanded that they should become subjects of the 
king of England and call him father, to which the Indians ab- 
sented, without comprehending the nature of the obligation. 
Wasson made a speech that, but for its brevity, might have been 



Bouquet'' s Advance into the Indian Country. 1;>T 

uttered by the Bishop of London: "Last year, God forsook us. 
God has now opened our eyes. It is God's will our hearts are 
altered; it is God's will there should be peace and tranquility 
over the face of the earth and of the waters." Such were the 
words of the sentimental savage, who appears to have been the 
orator of the day on the part of the Indians. 

When the council was over, Bradstreet sent a suitable force, un- 
der Capt. Howard, to take possession of and garrison the posts of 
Michilimackinac, Green Bay, and Ste. Marie — all of which was 
accomplished without opposition. 

He now started on his return, stopping at Sandusky on his 
way, to enforce the fulfillment of the slip-shod treaty he had 
made with the Shawanese and Delawares on his outward pas- 
sage. These tribes, however, were too cunning to be easily 
brought to terms. After wasting his time in procrastination till 
the season was too far advanced for warlike measures. Brad- 
street hastily departed, without securing the rendition of a single 
captive or any other substantial marks of submission. For this 
inefficient conduct he was justly censured by Gen. Gage. 
■ Let us now return to Ft. Pitt, from which the expedition un- 
der Bouquet was to penetrate the savage realms of the Indians, 
in places hitherto held sacred to barbarism, if the expression is 
admissible. It had been the intention of Gen. Gage to have 
Bradstreet at Sandusky, fighting the Wyandots and Delawares, 
while Bouquet was attacking the Indian towns on the Musking- 
um ; but this strategic co-operation miscarried, owing to the hin- 
drances in getting the forces into the field, destined for the inte- ' 
rior service under Bouquet. It was not till the 5th of August 
that Bouquet's army were ready. Carlisle was its place of ren- 
dezvous. It consisted of the Pennsylvania provincials, 200 
friendly Indians, and the 4:2d and 60th regiments of British reg 
ulars. On the 13th the army reached Ft. Loudon. Here Gen. 
Boquet received a despatch from Gen. Bradstreet, dated Presquo 
Isle, August 14th, informing him of the treaty he had made at 
that place with the Delawares and Shawanese ; but his quick 
penetration readily saw that Bradstreet had exceeded his instruc- 
tions in making the treaty, and that it had no binding force with 
the Indians, and he pressed on with the campaign. 

On his arrival at Ft. Pitt, ten Indians appeared on the oppo-'^h 
site bank of the river, wishinir to have a talk with him ; but , 
when boats were sent to ferry them over, only three ventured to ■ 
go. These not giving a consistent account of their good inten- 
tions were detained as spies. On the 20th, of September he 
tested the fidelity of one of them, by sending him to the Dela- 
wares and Shawanese, reminding them of certain hostile acts 
they had committed since they had signed the treaty with Brad- 
etreet. This message delivered, he was to proceed to Detroit 



138 Demands the Rendition of Captives. 

and deliver another at that place ; in default of the faithful per- 
formance of which, the two remaining comrades of the messen- 
ger still in the custody of Bouquet, were to be put to death. 

On the 3d of October all were ready, and the first white army 
of Americans that ever penetrated the interior of the West took 
up its march toward the heart of the Indian country. It num- 
bered 1500 men, besides teamsters and a goodly number of 
mothers whose children had been taken captive by the Indians, 
while among the soldiers were not a few whose wives had been 
abducted into savage captivity. On the 5th, the army reached 
Logstown, the place rendered memorable as the spot where 
Washington had held council with Half-King eleven years be- 
fore. On the 6th, continuing its course westwardly, it passed, a 
village built by the French and deserted by them when Forbes 
took Ft. Duquesne. On the lith, while encamped in the val- 
ley of the Muskingum, the Indian messenger despatched 
from Ft, Pitt with letters to Bradstreet, came in. He had 
been detained by the Delawares till Bouquet's army had penetra- 
ted the country, and, not desiring to keep him any longer, they 
had despatched him back to Bouquet, to inform him that they 
would soon send in peace proposals. 

Bouquet was now in the heart of the Inaian country, and could 
easily descend upon the various Indian towns and destroy their 
crops, in case they should not comply with his demands. Of 
this the Indians were well aware, and, on tne 17th, a large del- 
egation of Seneca, Delaware, and Shawanese chiefs came in 
with peace proposals. The Delawares had violated their treaty 
made with Bradstreet at Presque Isle, and were at their wits^ 
ends to know how to frame a plausible apology • but they made 
the best of the situation, smothered tueir pride, and asked for 
peace. To these overtures Bouquet, in stern language, reminded 
the Indians of their treachery and of the feeling of just resent- 
ment which filled the hearts of mothers, brothers, sisters, and 
husbands of captives now in their possession. These aggrieved 
relatives were on the spot to receive them; and he closed by 
saying, "I give you twelve days to deliver into my hands, at 
Wakatamake, all the prisoners in your possession, without ex- 
ception — Englishmen, Frenchmen, women and children, wheth- 
er adopted in your tribes, married or living among you under 
any pretense whatever, together with all negroes. And you are 
to furnish the said prisoners with clothing, provisions, and horses 
to carry them to Ft. Pitt. When you have fully complied with 
these conditions, you shall know on what terms you may obtain 
the peace you sue for." 

The dav of humiliation for the Indians had now comie, from 
which there was no escape, and they made haste to do the bid- 
ding of Bouquet. Eighteen captives were immediately brought 



Rendition of tJie Captives. 13^ 

in by the Delawares, and the other tribes made preparations to- 
fulfil the required conditions, though the Shawanese, in their 
despair, were tormented between hope and fear, and at one time 
formed the cruel resolution to kill all the captives in their hands, 
under an impression that the English had come to destroy their 
whole tribe. Happily, however, this mistaken idea was correct- 
ed, and, on the 12th of the succeeding month, nearly all th& 
captives had been brought in, and the final conference was held, 
a few miles distant from the place first appointed. 

The number of captives brought in was 206, of whom 32 
males and 58 females were from Yirginia, and 49 males and 67 
females from Pennsylvania. Many of them were children who 
had never known any other but Indian mothers, and were in no 
wise different from other children of the forest, except a slight 
distinction in the color of the skin, and even this had been darkly 
shaded by the sun and wind. They were now brought into the- 
presence of their own mothers, from whose breasts they had 
been savagely torn during the French and Indian war ; and ma- 
ny a mother's heart was filled with joy at the restoration of a- 
long-lost child, whose uncertain fate had, ever since its capture, 
* been a painful image of despair, relieved only by dreams of 
hope. Other mothers, who looked in vain among the captivea 
for their lost children, were doomed to a redoubled sense of grief, 
as conviction was forced upon them that they bad fallen victims to 
the tomahawk. ,l^o small amount of tender persuasion was re- 
quired to reconcile the redeemed waifs to their natural mothers, 
and, when the parting scene came, their adopted mothers gave 
vent to tears and lamentations, which measured the depths of 
their affection for these objects of their care. Among the youth 
who still retained recollections of their native homes, many were 
unwilling subjects of rendition. Some of them had to be bound 
and brought in by force, and after they had been returned to 
civilized society, took the first favorable opportunity to escape 
from their kindred into savage life. 

Among the adult captives, some of the young women had mar- 
ried Indian braves, and were living in harmonious marital i-ela- 
tions with their lords, contented to do the drudgery of the lodge 
like good squaws. An example of fidelity on the part of a Min- 
go chief to a young female captive from Pennsylvania, whom he 
intended to make his wife, is recorded, which, in constancy and 
devotion, ought to satisfy the most exacting coquetry of courtly 
etiquette. With melting tenderness, he parted from the object \ 
of his affections at the camp where the captives were received, 
on the banks of the Muskingum, and, impelled by those emo- 
tions that lovers can understand better than the pen of History 
can describe, he hung about the camp, with no reasonable hope 
of ever seeing her again, and every day brought some choice bit 



140 Return of the Army. 

of food for her. When the army of Bouquet withdrew, he fol- 
lowed it all the way to the frontiers, continuing his daily supply 
•of choice game for the benefit of the mistress of his affections. 
Had he entered the settlements, he would have been shot at 
■sight. Of this he was amply warned by the soldiers, and, just 
before reaching them, he reluctantly lingered behind, while the 
receding columns of the army that bore away his mistress van- 
ished forever from his sight, when he retraced his long and lone- 
some path to the wilderness lodges of his people. 

Bouquet left his camp on the 18th of November, and arrived 
-, .at Ft. Bitt on the 28th. Here he left a garrison of regulars and 
. withdrew with the volunteers and captives to the settlements. 
' 1 The succeeding January, 1765, the Assembly of Bennsylvania 
^ ' voted him a resolution of thanks for his efficient services. Vir- 
ginia did the same soon afterward. The next year he went to 
Pensacola, where he died. 
Q" In vain may the records of progress in civilization be searched 
\ for a parallel to the episode presented at the rendition of these 
captives. Here two extremes came into rivalship with each otli- 
•er, unshackled by the influences which stimuhite lazy intellects 
< and feeble purposes by emulation in the world of culture and 
/ -education. Savage life imposes no restraint upon the individual 
^.except what might come from a loose estimate of social stand- 
ing. A number of scalps taken from an enemy are essential to 
the reputation of a warrior, and a bountiful supply of game se- 
■cures fame as a hunter. These honors are hedged in by no mo- 
nopoly or intricate theories based on precedent, and it is no mar- 
Tel that the simple child of the forest, whether a renegade from 
white settlements or an Indian, should stand appalled before the 
labyrinthian mazes through which a high niche may be attained 
in the great temple of civilization, and shrink from entering the 
lists for rivalship for a place in this temple, which appears like a 
sealed mystery to him. Under this forlorn duress, he buries 
himself in the forest and studies the physical features of nature, 
with no possible clue to its grander beauties revealed by science. 
His wants are. measured by nature's demands only — blind to 
the unfathomable depths of educated longings for more. Eccen- 
tric philosophy peculiar to frontier life sometimes prefers the 
savage state, rather than brook the ills of what, with no impi-o- 
priety, may be called the loose screws in our civilization, which 
time may tighten up and perfect the beneficent fabric held to- 
gether by them, into a great leveler of all distinctions not based 
on merit. 

[Ni^TE. — Immediately after the return of Bouquet to Philadelphia, a book was 
published, giving an historical account of his expedition, which had excited uni- 
versal emotions of gratitude. It was reprinted in London by T. JefTeries, shortly 
afterward, bearing date ot 1766. It forms the basis of the foregoing account,] 



CHAPTER VIIl. . 

The Illinois Country — Slavery — The Lead Trade — LaClede''» 
Grant — Ft. Chartres — Settlement of St. Louis — Louisiana 
ceded to Spain — The English under 3lajor Loftus., attempt 
to penetrate to the Illinois Country l>y way of the Missis- 
sippi — Are repulsed — Geo. Croghan — He advances to the 
Illinois Country — Is taken prisoner — Ls released — Holds a 
Council with his I vidian captors, and hidings them to terms 
favorable to the English — Items from his Journal — The 
Illinois Country taken possession of by Captain Sterling 
— Proclamation of Gen. Gage — Early Governors of the 
Illinois Country — Pontiac in Council with Sir Williamy 
Johnson — He resigns his ambitious designs — His death 
and its consequences — Chicago, the Indian Chief 

At the extreme verge of settlements in the great Interior the- 
French villages of the Illinois country still nestled in qnietude 
among the vine-clad bluffs of the Mississippi. Ever since 1720 
the lead mines of Galena had been worked by individual enter- 
prise, in which branch of industry the Indians had been sharers 
with the Erench. Philip Fi'ancis Heynault had been the prime*; 
mover in this trade; the same who in 1720 had introduced slavery 
among the French inhabitants of Kaskaskia and the adjacent 
villages, to work the mines under the impression that the coun- 
try abounded in mineral wealth. The lead trade, besides the j 
trades in peltries and furs, had been turned toward New Orleans ] 
since Fort Frontenac had been taken in 1758, during the height 
of the late war, and now that it had terminated in despoiling- 
the French of all their American possessions east of the Missis- 
sippi, except New Orleans, it was in the natural course of events 
that they should by every means in their power exert themselves 
to secure the trade of the Upper Mississippi to themselves, by 
making New Orleans, which was still a French port, a com- 
mercial outlet to the sea, for the still immense possessions of" 
France west of the Mississippi river. 



142 St. Louis /Settled. 

Witli tills end in view, Pierre Lin^neste La Clede, in 1703, 
obtiiiiicd a grant for trading in tlie npjjer country, fron) M. D. 
Abbadic, tlie Fi'cnch Governor of Louisiana, wliicli territory 
embraced the entire country on the immediate west bank of the 
Mii?sissij)pi, of wliich Now Orleans, on the east bank, was the 
metropolis, lie immediately organized a company under the 
style of La Clede, Maxon & Co., ])urchased a stock of goods, 
and starting \ip the river, reached a small missionary station 
named St. Genevieve, on the third of November. Here lie would 
have lixed his headquarters, but as he could find no ])lace to store 
his goods, he crossed the Mississi])])i and established himself at 
Ft. Charti'es. Though the place was still in French possession, 
it Avas liable at any time to be shadowed by an English flag, ac- 
cording to the treaty of peace, and to establish himself perma- 
nently under French rule, he determined to lay out a town 
on the west bank of the river, as a grand commercial center to 
which the trade of the Upper Mississippi should tend. Every- 
thing was made ready on the fifteenth of February, 1704, and 
this was the date when the ground was first scarred for his trad- 
ing post, where the city of St. Louis now stands. Shortly after- 
wards, he laid out streets from which began the great city whose 
marvelous growth has found no rivid in the whole interior, except 
Chicago; nor did its rivalship begin until a late period, even 
within the memory of many of her present citizens. 

Jts name, after Louis XIV., is a monument grand as it is 
enduring, of early French ])ower in America. That the site was 
well chosen, her future greatness has ])roved. 'Here the hydraulic 
forces of nature, if rivers may be called such, gather their tribu- 
tary waters from the Alleghanies to the liocky Mountains to a 
common center, not distant from the site of the city, while below 
the moutli of the Ohio, not a spot could be found above New 
(Orleans which could command extensive connections by naviga 
ble waters, with any large amount of territory. 

Many of the inhabitants of the Illinois country crossed thti 
river and joined Iva Clede's settlement, in order to remain under 
tiie rule of tluiir native land, but, alas for their loyalty to the 
J.ilies! The French King had already, on November second, 
1 7(5*2, by the secret treaty of St. lldetonso, ceded Louisiana to 
Sjtain, and ere a yeai-\s residence, they were astonished by the 
])ublication of the treaty which made them bu1)jects of Spain — 
a country which they despised. 

AVhen the news came, it was received in New Orleans with a 
storm of indii-Miation — tasking the utmost efforts of the officers 
of the French crown to sup])ress a rebellion on the spot, rather 
than come under Sj)anish rule. Abbadie, the governor, was in 
feeble health, and the universal discontent weighed heavily upop 



Ewjllah liejjulse on the Mississippi. 148 

liim, wlien, as if to add to tlie •general turmoil, an importunate 
delet^ation of Indians cairic to liim froui j\)iitiac, be<^(i:ing assist- 
ance wherewitli tu renew the war ajLjainst the English. These 
could not be turned away without a resjjectful hearing which 
was granted, and a softened reply made by the amiable ofHcial 
wlio survived the accuinuhitcd agitation bnt two or three days, 
passing away witii his mind distiacted by the vanishing fortunes 
of French power in America. 

The destinies of the immense interior, with its forests and 
prairies, its rivers and its lakes, spread out in a mysterious ex- 
panse on the face of nature, were now, by the fortunes of war, se- 
<iured to the English; but how to take j)ossessioii ot them was yet 
a problem not fully solved. In 1764 the English took possession 
<tf Florida by virtue of a treaty with Sjiain of the preceding 
year,* and from thence an English jjost was established on 
JBayou Manclue, on the ^Mississippi river. From the latter place 
Major Loftus was ordered to push his way up the Mississippi 
\vitn a i'orce of three hundred men, to take possession of the Illi- 
jriois country. 

While laboring against the current on his way, with his lum- 
bersome barges, he w'as suddeidy attacked by the Tunica Indians, 
who poured a volley of shot among his men, first. from one side 
of the river and next from the other, when he imra(;diately 
retreat^ed to Pensacola; and the schetne of reaching the Illinois 
(Mjuntry by the way of the Mississipj)i was indefinitely post- 
poned, <ir rather substituted by a more direct approach to it by 
the way of the Ohio,f and up the Missir-isi|»pi when it was reached. 
This route would bring the English dii-ecjt to Ft. Chartres, the 
Htronghold of the French, without a wilderness march among a ' 
people whose love for tliem had become a passion. 

*Durin<r the American Revolution in 1781, the Spaniards wrested Florida 
from tlie JOiiglish, and at the Peace of Paris in 178:', it was (guaranteed to that 
power, ;ind retained till it was ceded to the United States by Spain, in 1818. 

fin a letter from James Rivington, of New York, to Sir Wm. Johnson, dated 
February 20, 1704, the followinjj pas^aj^e occurs, which is inserted to show the 
forlorn cl)aract/,'r with wliicli any attempt to pi'netrate the Interior at that timo 
wfiK rey^arded: "Ihe 22n(\ Regiment, (:onsl>^ting of ;!00 Men under Majr. An. 
Loftus, is (rone i.p tlie Missis-ipi to t.ik" ijo^t (if thfy can) at Fort (Jli;irtreR, in 
the Illinois Country. Query, how many will return to (pve accounts of the 
the rest?"- At tho dose of the letter, speakinff of Gen. Amherst, he says;; 
"The ship New Hope arrived from En^rlanrl on Saturday morning; in her came 
an offtcer who affirm.^ that there h-an extreme gnat outcry against General 
Ajnherst, w^h jg nuppoi-t'd by all the army that sen'cd in Am'-rica now in Eng- 
land & that Col. I>ee of y« 44th is now employing himself in writing upon tho 
conduct of that otlicer dining liis command in this country." 

AIbb. jjapers of Sir William Johnson; see Doc. Hist. N. Y., Vol. II., p. 809. 

It evident that the glorious termination of the war was due more to the sol- 
<Vn-rv than to the leader.-hiij of Amherst, whose Procrustean rule.s were ill adapt- 
<hI to bush fighting. — [Authoh 



144 Crogharts Expedition. 

t The situation was complicated by a triple combination of ad- 
verse influences, and reqnired the ntmost discretion on the part 
of those entrnsteil with the serv^ice of overcomin<j the obstacles 
]n the way of establishing English authority in this remote 
frontier, where a unanimous feeling went against it. The year 
before Pontiac had been there and exhausted his powers of sav- 
age rhetoric to enl st the French in his desperate cause, and re- 
new the attack on the English. The discreet St. Ange, who held 
military command of tlie country, was at his wits' end to know 
liow to answer the importunate hero whose schemes were as im- 
practicable as his popularity was universal, but by dint of much 
circumspection managed to preserve his good fellowship with 
the Indians by a very respectful demeanor towards Pontiac^ 
while he declined any aid to his cause. The irresponsible traders, 
however, did not sliare this wise policy which would bring no 
grists to their mill, whatever it miglit do for the public good; 
for when the English came, they would have to either take a 
subordinate interest under them, or quit their calling. Under 
this contingency tliey did their utmost to inflame the minds of 
the Indians against the English. 

Even in those primitive times commercial rivalship between 
the northern route to the sea, by the way of the Ohio, in compeif 
tition to the already established thoroughfare of the Mississippi, 
was* not without its influence, and a double precaution became 
necessary in the next attempt to penetrate these outermost 
bounds of French settlements, which had as yet enjoyed an unin- 
terrupted peace during the past ten years of sanguinary war. 
Sir William Johnson, vvlio was Superintendent of Indian affairs, 
had in his emyjloy an able officer named George Croghan, who 
acted as his deputy at distant points beyond his reach, and he 
was selected by Gen. Gage as the fittest person known to advance 
into the country still held by the French and influence both 
them and the Indians in favor of the English, as a preparatory 
ste]) to pave the way for the force which was soon to follow. 
Fort Pitt was the place from which he was to embark on his 
dangerous mission, but he was detained here a month to receive 
the last installment of captives from the Shawaneese, which had 
been promised to Bouquet the year before, and who could not be 
delivered to him at that time on account of their absence on a 
hunt. Meantime, inauspicious news came to hand from the in- 
terior, which admonished CrogWan that the sooner he arrived 
among the conquered but vacillating subjects of the King in the 
Illinois country, the less difficult would be the task of reconcili- 
ation. In his command was a celebrated frontierer named Fra- 
,'j/ ser — the same who had pushed across the mountains in 1753, and 
,( established a trading station on the Alleghany river. ITe vol- 



X 






^^f^-.'T-.- . ■ 



mm... 



'-'^ta^L''r ■ 



'^Ml 






ss^^P'"-=|3 --^=i^ 



-i&r 




- .>,': I 






-iU 










.^■JX 



<^-SjJtE?.«iin. >V''£^ 













■ - . - . - . -rt^^q^ j j-.^ ^^ . : 




hffiiS 



^''==~— -"'^ 






iU) azzdl 



ess ton o/^ i/ic Afe7^canlUc Zid7^a?^yAssociaHon. 



Croghati Attacked and taken Prisoner. 145 

unteered to start in advance of Croofhan, as an emissary of English 
power at the place in question, and with a hardihood seldoni 
equaled, pushed his canoe, with a few attendants, down the Ohio 
river to Ft, Massac; thence he made his way across the country 
to the French villages of the Illinois country. He was well re- 
ceived at first, but he had not remained long till the French 
traders conspired to take his life by means of exciting the In- 
dians against him, and would certainly have accomplished their 
purpose, bat for the interposition of Pontiac, who was there, and 
whose potent influence was barely sufficient to save hira from 
being tomahawked. 

Early in May, true to their agreement, the faithful Shaw- 
aneese brought in the promised captives, and delivered them to 
Croghan at Ft. Pitt; and all things now being ready, he em- 
barked on the 15th. 1T65, with a few white companions and a 
" number of friendly Indians," says his journal. 

On the 19th, while on his way down the river, he sent a mes- 
sage to the Shawaneese villages to order them to bring the 
French traders who were anions them to the mouth of the 
Scioto river, as they could no longer be suffered to trade there 
without a permit trom " His Excellency," Gen. Gage. On liis 
arrival at the place, which was on the 26th, the Indians were 
promptly on the spot with the traders, seven in number, for the 
lesson Bouquet had taught them the year before w^as too impres- 
sive to be soon forgotten, and they dare not disobey. After de- 
livering the Frenchmen into the custody of Croghan, they de- 
clared that noihing should be left undone on their part to con- 
vince the English of their sincerity in the interests of peace. 
Having satisfactorily arranged his official business witli the sub- 
missive Shawaneese, he proceeded on his Avay and arrived at the 
mouth of the Wabash river on the 6th of June, where he macfe 
a halt for some prudential purpose. 

No English delegation had ever before penetrated so far down 
the river, except Eraser's party, and he soon found that the In- 
dians in these deep recesses of the forest, had not yet been tem- 
pered into that submissive frame of mind that had but recently 
manifested itself among the Shawaneese. Here lie remained 
encamped till the 8th, when he was attacked at daybreak in tlio 
morning,. by eighty Kickapoo and Musquatamie M'arriors. 

Five of liis men were killed, three of whom were his Shawa- 
neese allies, and he himself was slightly wounded. He had M'ith 
him an amount of gold and silvci-, which, with his goods, was 
taken by liis captors. The Indians were released, but Ci'oghan 
with his men were taken to Vincennes. They arrived there on 
the 1.5th, where was a French village of eighty houses, and an 
Indian village of the Pyankeshas close by. Here, tor half a ccn- 



146 Croghan Released. 

turj, the two races had been living in loving relations with each 
other in this wilderness, recluse under the dense shades of the 
beech, sugar, oak and elm, forest trees that attain unusual heights 
in the rich bottoms of the Wabash, shutting out the rays of the 
gun from the black alhivial soil. Here he found old acquaint- 
ances among the Indians, who, aware of his official position, 
severely reprimanded his captors, though his journal does not 
inform us that either the goods or money of which he had been 
robbed were restored ; but though a captive, he was treated with 
respect. Wishing to write to St. Ange, who held command of 
the Illinois towns, he applied to the French 'uhabitants of the 
place for paper, which they gave him, but not till the consent of 
the Indians had been obtained. After writing the letter and 
dispatching it by an Indian messenger, his Indian friends, in 
whose custody he now was, conducted him up the Wabash river 
to Ouatanon, arriving tiiere on the 23d. Here he found more 
Indian acquaintances, who were very civil with the distinguished 
captive. Bi}t on the lirst of July a Frenchman arrived from the 
Illinois villages with a belt and speech from an unrelenting 
Shawanecse savage, who, instead of submitting to the peace his 
tribe had made with Bouquet, had fled to this distant post in the 
vain hope that he was out of the reach of the English. The 
substance of the speech was that the prisoner should be burnt. 
But instead of listening to such counsels they immediately set 
him at liberty, with assurances that they despised the message. 
The liberated captive now held counsels with the various Indian 
tribes of the country, including those who had captured him, 
and obtained their consent for the English to take possession of 
any posts in the country held by the French. On the 18th he 
set out for the Illinois villages, but on the way met an important 
delegation of Six Nation and Shawaneese chiefs, among whom 
was the distinguished Pontiac. The whole party now returned 
to Ouatanon, and Croghan succeeded in explaining everything to 
the entire satisfaction of all the chiefs, Pontiac himself not dis- 
senting from the all-prevailing sentiment in favor of submission 
to the English. 

It appears from various items in his joui-nal that some of the 
inconsolable French of the country had told the Indians that 
the English intended to take their country from them and give 
it to the Cherokees, but Croghan happily succeeded in dispelling 
this mistaken apprehension; and notwithstanding the unpropi- 
tious beginning of his mission, it proved a decided success, and 
owing to his able method of influencing the savage mind, he 
managed to turn his defeat to a good, account, as the result of 
that natural recoil which is shown alike in the savage and the 
cultured mind, when inconsiderate and hasty action has gone be- 



Croghan's Journal. 147 

vond the medium line of a just or a practicable policy. He 
now wrote to Gen. Gage, Sir William Johnson, and Major Mur- 
ray, who then held command of Fort Pitt, informing them of 
the pacific temper of the Indian mind, and on the 25th set out 
for Detroit, arriving there on the 17th of August. Here he met 
two Frenchmen named Dequanu and Waobieomica, with a depu- 
tation of Indians from Sir William Johnson, as the bearers of 
messages to Pontiac and the western tribes. Col. Campbell, who 
now held command of Detroit, convened a council of various 
tribes, whose representatives were already on the spot in obedi-' 
ence to council belts which had been sent to each tribe in the 
country by Bradstreet the year before, while on his mission to 
relieve the place from siege. 

Complete submission to the English was the universal policy 
noM^ The Miami Pyankeshas and Kickapoos begged to be 
forgiven for the inconsiderate action of their young men, and 
hoped their English Fathers would have pity on their necessities 
and give them a little clothing and a little rum to drink on the 
road, as they had come a great way. The Wyandots asked for 
no rum or any other favors, but with a commendable spirit of 
Btatesmansliip, exhorted the western tribes to behave well 
towards their "English Fathers, who had taken them under their 
protection," and by so doing, become " a happy people; " that 
*'ail nations towards the rising sun had taken tliem by the hand, 
and would never let slip the chain of" friendship so happily 
renewed." 

The following items in the journal of Croghan are inserted 
verhatim., as no other words could be chosen of equal historic 
value, to show the situation at that time: 

" 24th. A¥e had another meeting with the several nations, 
when the Waweotonans, Tawightwls, Pyankeshas, Kickapoos, 
and Musquatamies, made several speeches to Colonel Campbell 
and me, in presence of all the other nations, when they acknowl- 
edged themselves to be the children of the king of Great 
Britain; and further acknowledged that they had, at Weotonan, 
before they came here, given up the sovereignty of their country 
to me for his majesty, and promised to support his subjects in 
taking possession of all the posts given up by the French, their 
former fathers, to the P^nglish, now their present fathers; all 
which they confirmed with a belt. 

" 25th. We had another meeting with the safne Indians, 
when Colonel Campbell and I made them several speeches in 
answer to theirs of the* 23d and 24th. Then delivered them a 
road belt, in the name of Sir AVilliam Johnson, 1 aronet, to open 
a road from the rising to the setting of the sun; wiiich we 
cliarged thern to keep o]jen through their country, and cautioned 



148 PontiaG for Peace. 

them to stop their ears against the stories or idle reports of evil 
Triiiided people, and continue to promote the good works of 
peace; all which the)^ promised to do in a most sincere manner. 

" 26th. Colonel Campbell and I made those nations some 
preseiits, when, after taking leave of ns, they set off' for their 
own country, well satisfied. 

"27th. We had a meeting with Pondiac and all the Ottawa 
tribes, Chippewas and Pottewa emies, with the Hurons of this 
place, and the chiefs of those settled at Sandusky and the Miami 
river, when we made them the following speeches — " 

The speeches are brief, and relate chiefly to their keeping the 
peace in sincerity and good faith. On the following day, or the 
28th August, they had another meeting with the Indians, 
when Pondiac made the following speech, which is worth pre- 
serving, as coming from so celebrated a man: 

" Father — We luive all smoked out of this pipe of peace. It 
is your children's pipe, and as the war is all over, and the Great 
Spirit and Giver of Light, who has made tlie earth, and every 
thing therein, has brought us all together this day for our mutual 
good, to promote the good works of peace, I declare to all na- 
tions that I have settled my peace with you before I came here, 
and now deliver my pipe to be sent to Sir William Johnson, that 
he may know I have made peace, and taken the king of England 
for my father, in presence of all the nations now assemljlod, and 
whenever any of those nations go to visit him, they may smoke 
out of it with him in peace. Fathers, we are obliged to you for 
lighting up our old council fire for us, and desiring us to return 
to it; but we are now settled on the Miami river, not far from 
hence; whenever you want us, you will find us there ready to 
wait on you. The reaso i why I choose to stay where we are now 
settled is, that we love liquor, and to be so near this as we for- 
merly lived, our people would be always drunk, which might oc- 
casion some quarrels between the soldiers and our people. This, 
father, is all the reason I have for our not returning to our old 
settlements; and where we live is so nigh this ])lace, that when 
we want to drink, we can easily come for it. [Gave a large pip& 
with a belt of wampum tied to it.] 

" Father — Be sti-ong and take pity on us, your children, as our 
former father did. It is inst the huntiuix season of vour chih 
dren. Our fathers, the French, formerly ustd to credit his chil- 
dren, for powder and lead to hunt with. I request, in l)ehalf of 
all the nations present, that you will speak to the traders now 
here, to do the same. My father, once more, I request that yoii 
rell your traders, to give your children credit for a little powder 
and lead, as the support of our families depends upon it. We 
have told you where we live, not far from here, that whenever 



Indian Proposals to Ojpen Trade. 149 

YOU want us, and let us know, we will come directly to you. 
[A belt.] 

" Father — You have stopjied up the rum barrel, when we came 
]iere, until the business of this meetiiii^ was over. As it is now 
linislied, we request you may open the barrel, that your children 
may drink and be merry." 

There were present at this treaty about thirty chiefs and five 
hundred warriors. A list of the tribes is given, and the names 
of the chiefs. This was the last public transaction, in wliich 
Pondiac was eno-ao-ed with the Eno^lish.* 

" 29th. A deputation of several nations set out from Detroit 
for the Illinois country, with several messages iroin me to the 
Wyandots, ^ix Nations, Delawares, Shawanees, and other na- 
tions, in answer to theirs, delivered to me at Weotonan. 

" 30tli. The chiefs of the several nations who are settled on 
OuaI)ache, returned to the Detroit, from the river Koche, where 
they had been encamped, and informed Colonel Campbell and 
me they were now going for their own country; and that nothing 
gave them greater pleasure than to see, that all the western na- 
tions and tribes had agreed to a general peace, and that they 
should be glad how soon their fathers, the English, would take 
possession of the posts in their country, which had formerly been 
in possession of their late fathers, the French, to open a trade 
for them; and if this could not be done this fall, they desired 
tliat some traders might be sent to their villages, to supply them 
for the winter, or else they would be obliged to go the Illinois, 
to apply to their old fathers, the French, for such necessaries as 
they mi girt want. 

'' 1'liey then spoke on a belt, and said: Fathers, everything is 
now settled, and we have agreed to your taking posssession in 
our country. We have been informed that the English, wherever 
they settle, make the country their own; and you tell us that 
when you conquered the French, they i^ave you this country. 
That no difference may happen hereafter, we tell you the French 
never purchased a foot of our country, nor have they a right to 
give it to you. We gave them liberty to settle, and they 
were always very civil to us, when they had it in their power; 
but as they now are become your people, if you expect to keep 
those posts as your own property, we will expect to have equiva- 
lent made us, for such parts of our country as you may want to 
possess. [A belt.] 

" September 2nd. The chiefs of the Wyandots, or Hurons, 
<--ume to me and said they had spoke last summer, to Sir William 

*Ap hisforical en-or of Hildreth. the editor of Crog-han's Journal. Pontiac at- 
t(!nded a contention at, Oswego, the next year, called by Sir William Johnson, 
— [AuTHon. 



150 The Ottawas and Chippewas from Chicago Ajpologize. 

Johnson, at Niao;ara, about the lands on which the French had 
settled near Detroit, belonging to them, and desired I would 
mention it again to him; that they never had sold it to the 
French, and expected their new fathers, the English, would do 
them justice, as the French was become one people with us. [A 
belt.] 

"4th, Pondiac, with several chiefs of the Plurons, Chippe- 
was and Pottewatemies, likewise complained that the French had 
settled part of their country, which they never had sold to them, 
and hoped their fathers, the English, would take it into consid- 
eration, and see that a proper satisfaction was made to them; 
that their country was very large, and they were willing to give 
up any part of it that was necessary for their fathers, the Eng- 
lish, to carry on trade — provided they were paid for it, and a. 
sufficient part of the country left for tliem to hunt on. [A belt] 

"6th. The Saginaw Indians came here and made a speech on 
a belt of wampum, expressing their satisfaction on hearing that 
a general ]>eace was made with all the western nations and with 
Pondiac. They desired a little powder and lead, to enable them 
to hunt on their way home, and a little rum, to drink tlieir new 
father's health." [A belt.] 

N. B. The transactions of the 9th and lltli are written with 
such poor ink, and so faded, that they cannot be deciphered. 

" 12th. The grand sauton, and a party of Ottawas and Chip- 
pewas, from Chicago, sent me word they would come in the 
morning and see me. 

" 13th. The grand sauton came, with his band, and spoke a.4 
follows: 

" Father — You sent me a belt from the Miami, and as soon as- 
I received it I set off to meet you here. On my way, I heard 
what has passed between you and the several tribes that met you 
here. You have had pity on them; and I beg, in behalf of my- 
self and the people of Chicago, that you will have pity on ua 
also. It is true we, have been foolish, and listened to evil re- 
ports and the whistling of bad birds. We red people are a very 
jealous people; and, father, among you white ])eople there are- 
bad people also, that tell us lies and deceive us, which has been 
the occasion of what is past. I need not say much on this head. 
I am now convinced I have been wrong led for some years past. 
But there are people that have behaved worse than I and my 
people, and you have pardoned them. 1 hope you to do the 
same to us, that our women and children may enjoy the bless- 
ings of peace, as the rest of our brethren, the red people; and 
you shall be convinced, by our future conduct, that we will be- 
have as well as any tribe of your children in this country. [A 
belt.] 



The Chicago Delegation Make Revelations. 151 

" He then said, the St. Joseph Indians would liave come along 
with me, but the English prisoner, which their fathers want from 
them, was some distance off a-hunting. As soon as they could 
get him, they would deliver him up, and beg forgiveness of their 
fathers, as they did at present. 

" 14th. I had a private ineeting with the grand sauton, when 
he told me he was well disposed for peace last fall, but was then 
sent for to the Illinois, where he met with Pondiac; and that 
then their fathers, the French, told them, if they would be 
strong, aiid keep the English out of the possession of that coun- 
try by this summer, that the king of France would send over 
an army next spring to assist his children, tiie Indians; and that 
the king of Spain Mould likewise send troo])s, to help them to 
keep the English out of the country; that the English were a 
bad people, and had a design to cut off all the Indian nations in 
this country, and to bring the southern Indians to live and settle 
there. This account made all the Indians very uneasy in their 
minds; and, after holding a council among themselves, they all 
determined to oppose the English, and not suffer tliem to take 
possession of the Illinois; that, for his part, he behaved as ill as 
the rest to the British othcers that went there this spring; but 
since, he has been better informed of the goodness of the Eng- 
lish, and convinced the French told them lies for the love of 
their beavers. He was now determined, with all his people, to 
become faithful and dutiful children to their new fathers, the 
English, and pay no regard to any stories the French should tell 
him in future. 

" 15th. Colonel Campell and I had a meeting with the grand 
sauton, at which we informed him of everything that has passed 
with the several nations and tribes; and told hrm we accepted 
him and his people in friendship, and would forgive them as we 
had the rest of the tribes, and fojget what was past, provided 
their future conduct should convince us of their sincerity. After 
which we gave them some presents for which he returned thanks, 
and departed very well satisfied. 

" 19th. I received a letter from Colonel Reed, by express, ac- 
quainting me of Captain Sterling setting out from Fort Pitt, 
with a hundred men of the forty-second regiment, to take pos- 
session of Fort Chartres, in the Illinois countrv. 

" 20th. I sent off Aaron Andrew, express to Captain Sterling 
at the Illinois, and with messages to the several nations in that 
country, and those on the Ouabache, to acquaint them of Cap- 
tain Sterling's departure from Fort Pitt for the Illinois country. 

" 25th. The chiefs of the St. Joseph Indians arrived, and ad- 
dressed themselves to Colonel Campbell and me, as follows: 



162 The St. Joseph Delegation Apologize. 

" Fathers — We are come here to see jon, although we are not 
ac(|naintecl with you. We had a father, formerly, with whom we 
were very well acquainted, and never differed with him. You 
have conquered him some time ago; and when you came liere 
first, tliough your liands were all bloody, you took hold of us by 
the hands, and used us well, and we thought we should be happy 
with our brethren. But soon an unlucky difference happened, 
which threw us all into confusion. AVhere this arose we do not 
know, but we assure you we were the last that entered into 
the quarrel. The Indians of this place solicited us often to join 
them, but we would not listen to them. At last they got the 
better of our foolish vounsi; warriors, but we never agreed to it: 
we knew it would answer no end, and told them often, they were 
fools, and if they succeeded in killing the few English in this 
country, they would not kill them all, because we knew you to 
be a great people. 

Fathers — You have, after all that has happened, received all 
the several tribes in this country for your children. We from 
St. Joseph seem to be the last of 3'our children that came to you 
to beg mercy. We are no more than wild creatures to you, 
fathers, in understanding; therefore we request you to forgive 
the past follies of our young people, and receive us for your 
children. Since you have thrown down our former father on his 
back, we have been wandering in the dark, like blind people. 
Now you have dispersed all this darkness, which hung over the 
heads of the several tribes, and have acce]>ted them for your 
children; we hope you will let us partake with them the light, 
that our women and children may enjoy peace. We beg you to 
forget all that is past. By this belt we remove all evil thoughts 
from your hearts. [A belt.] 

" They added furtlier: Fathers — When we formerly came to 
visit our fathers, the French, they always sent us home joyful, 
and we hope you, fathers, will have pity on our women and 
young men who are in great want of necessaries, and not let us 
go home to our towns ashamed. 

- " Colonels Campbell and Croghan made them a favorable an- 
-swer, and added presents of powder, lead, vermillion, clothing, 
-and two kegs of rum, ending the interview with these remarks: 

"Children — 1 take this opportunity to tell you that your fath- 
ers, the English, are gone down the Ohio from Fort Pitt, to take 
possession of the Illinois, and desire you may acquaint all your 
people of it on your return home; and likewise desire you to 
stop your ears against the whistling of bad birds (meaning the 
French), and mind nothing but your hunting to support your 
families, that your women" and children may enjoy the blessings 
of peace. 



Croghaii's Reports to Sir W7ti. Johnson. 153 

' " 26tli. I left Detroit and arrived, October 3d, at Niagara. 
Here I met some Seneeas with whom I had a meeting, and in- 
formed them of my transactions with the several nations, and 
desired them to inform tlieir people of it on their return home, 
wliich they promised me they would. 

"October 11th. Set off from Niagara, and arrived the 17th 
at Ontario, where I met the Bunt and several sachems of the 
Onondagas, with whom I liad a meeting, and informed them what 
.had passed between me and the western nations. 

" 19th. I set off from Ontario, and arrived at Fort Stanwix 
,the 21st." 

Col. Croghan's Report to Sir William Johnson, Supt. of In- 
dian Affairs: 

" Sir — Having now returned from the services I was sent upon 
by his Excellency General Gage, namely, the obtaining the In- 
dians' consent to our possessing the important posts at the Illi- 
;Qois, I present your honor with a journal of my transactions 
with the several nations and tribes in that country, for your pe- 
rusal. 

" In the situation I was placed at Weotonan* with great num- 
bers of Indians about me, and no necessaries, such as paper and 
ink, I had it not in my power to take down all the speeches 
made by the Indian nations, nor what I said to them, in so par- 
ticular a manner as I could wish; but hope the heads of them, 
AS I have taken them down, will meet your approbation. . » 

, " In the course of this tour through the Indian country, I 
made it my study to converse in private with Pondiac and sev- 
eral of the chiefs of the several nations, as often as opportunity 
served, in order to find out their sentiments of the French and 
F^nglish. Pondiac is a shrewd, sensible Indian, of few words, 
and commands more respect among his own' nation than any In- 
dian I ever saw could do amoni; his own tribe. He and all 
the principal men of those nations seem at present to be con- 
vinced that the French had a view of interest in stirring up the 
late difierence between his majesty's subjects and them, and call 
it ^ beaver war; for neither Pondiac, nor any of the Indians I 
met with, ever pretended to deny that the French were at the 
-bottom of the whole, and constantly supplied them with every 
necessary they wanted as far as in their power. And notwith- 
Btanding they are at present convinced that it was for tlieir own. 
interest, yet it has not changed the Indians' affection for them. 
They have been bred up together like children in that country, 

*This name should be spelled Ouatanon. It is pronounced We-au-ta-non, 
yhich doubtless was the cause of Crofjhan's incorrect way of spelling it; he 
probably never having seen it written. — Author, 



154 Croghati's Rejport Continued. 

and the French have always adopted the Indian customs and 
manners, treated them civilly, and supplied their necessities gen- 
erally, by which means they gained the hearts of the Indians, 
and commanded their services, and enjoyed the benefits of a 
very advantageous fnr trade. They well know if they had not 
taken these measures they could not enjoy these advantages. 

" The French liave in a manner taught the Indians in that 
country to hate the English, by representing them in the worst 
light they could, on all occasions; in particular they have made 
the Indians there believe, lately, that the English would take 
their country from them, and bring the Cherokees there to settle 
and enslave tliem; which report they easily gave credit to, as the 
southern Indians had lately commenced a war against them. I 
had great difficulty in removing this suspicion, and convincing 
them of the falsity of the report, which I flatter myself I have 
done in a great measure. 

" It will require some time, and a very even conduct in those 
that are to reside in their country, before we can expect to rival 
the French in their affections. All Indians are jealous, and from 
their high notions of liberty, hate power. Those nations are 
jealous and prejudiced against us, so that the greatest care will 
be necessary to convince them of our honest intentions by our 
actions. 

" The French sold them goods much dearer than the English 
traders do at present. In that point Ave have the advantage 
over the French, but they made that up in large presents to 
them, for their services, whicli they wanted to support their in- 
terest in the country; and altliough we want none of their ser- 
vices, yet they will expect favors, and if refused, take it in 
a bad light, and very likely think it done to distress them, for 
some particular advantage we want to gain over them. Tliey 
are by no means so sensible a peojyle as the Six IfationSj or 
other tribes this way; and the French, for their own advantage, 
have learned them a bad custom; for, by all I could learn, they 
seldom made them any general present, but as it were, fed them 
with necessaries just as they wanted, tribe by tribe, and never 
sent them away empty, which will make it difficult and trouble- 
some to the gentlemen that are to command in their country, for 
some time, to please them and pi-eserve peace, as they are a rash, 
inconsiderate people, and do not look on themselves as under any 
obligation to us, but rather think we are obliged to them for 
letting us reside in their country. 

" As far as I can judge of their sentiments, by the several 
conversations I have had with them, they will expect some sat- 
isfaction made them by us, for any posts that may be established 
in their country for trade. But you will be informed better hy 



The Illinois Country Under the English. 155 

themselves next spring, as Pondiac and some chiefs of every 
nation in that country, intend to pay you a visit. 

" The several nations on the Ouabache and towards the Illi- 
nois, St. Josephs, Chicago, La Baye, Saginaw, and other places, 
have applied for traders to be sent to their settlements. As it 
was not in the power of any officer to permit traders to go from 
Detroit, or Michillimackinac, either Englisli or French, I am of 
the opinion the Indians wull be supplied cliiefly this year from 
tlie Illinois, which is all French property; and if trading posts 
are not established at proper places in that country soon, the 
French must carry the best part of the trade over the Missis- 
sippi. This they are determined to do, if they can; for I have 
been informed that they are preparing to build a strong trading 
fort on the other side of the Mississippi, about sixty miles above 
Fort Citartres, and have this summer, in a private manner, trans- 
ported twenty-six pieces of small cannon up the river for that 
purpose. 

"I am with great esteem and regard, your honor's most obe- 
dient and most humble servant, 

"GEO. CROGHAN. 
" To the Honorable Sir William Johnson, General, his Majesty's 

sole agent for Indian affairs." 

This letter has no date, but was probably written soon after 
Colonel Croghan's arrival at Fort Stanwix, which was October 
21st, 1765 ; as it is attached to his journal of transactions. 

In accordance with the original plan, as soon as the success of 
Croghan's mission became known, the military commission 
which was to follow it, embarked from Ft. Pitt in the autumn 
of the same year — 1765. It consisted of about 120 men from 
the 42d Regiment of Highlanders, under Capt. Sterling. They 
arrived at Ft. Chartres, by the way of the Ohio and the Missis- 
sippi rivers, late in the autumn, and for the lirst time, the Lilies 
of France fell from the flao-staff, and the Cross of Saint Georire 
rose m its place on the banks of the Mississippi. This was the 
last official act in the great drama which hud despoiled France 
of her transcendent aspirations on the American continent. 

Note. — Col. Cro^'han's .I'ournal has been published in the last edition of 
Butler's History of Kentucky, but is not as correctly rendered as in Hildredth's 
Pioneer History, from which the foregoing' is taken. He took it from the orig- 
inal manuscript preserved among Col. Morgan's papers, who was subsequently 
appointed Indian Agent. 



156 Gen. Gage's Froclmnation. 

The following proclamation from Gen, Gage was issued by 
Capt. Sterling, on his arrival: 

"Whereas, by the peace concluded at Paris, on the 10th of 
Febi-uary, 1763, the country of the Illinois has been ceded to 
his Brittanic majesty, and the taking possession of the said 
country of the Illinois by the troops of his majesty, though de- 
layed, has been determined upon, we have found it good to 
make known to the inhabitants— 

" That his majesty grants to the inhabitants of the Illinois 
the liberty of the Catholic i-eligion, as it has already been 
granted to his subjects in Canada; he has consequently given 
the most precise and effective orders, to the end that his new 
Koman Catholic subjects of the Illinois may exercise the worship 
of their religion, according to the rites of the Roman church, 
in the same manner as in Canada; 

" That his majesty, moreover, agrees that the French inhabi- 
tants, or others, who have been subjects of the most christian 
king, may retire, in full safety and freedom, wherever they 
please, even to New Orleajis, or any otlier part of Louisiana, 
although it should happen that the Spaniards take possession of 
it in tiie name of his Catholic majesty; and they may sell their 
estates, provided it be to subjects of his majesty, and transport 
their effects, as well as their persons, without restraint upon 
.their emigration, under any pretense whatever, except in conse- 
quence of debts or of criminal process; 

" That those who choose to retain their lands and become sub- 
jects of his majesty, shall enjoy the same rights and privileges, 
the same security for their persons and effects, and liberty of 
trade, as the old subjects of the king; 

"That they are commanded, by these presents, to take the 
oath of fidelity and obedience to his majesty, in presence of 
Sieur Sterling, captain of the Highland regiment, the bearer 
hereof, and furnished with our full powers for this purpose; 

"That we recommend forcibly to the inhabitants, to conduct 
themselves like good and faithful subjects, avoiding by a wise 
and prudent demeanor all cause of complaint against them; 

"That they act in concert with his majesty's officers, so that 
his troops may take peaceable possession of all the posts, and 
order be kept in the country; by this means alone they will spai-e 
his majesty the necessity of recurring to force of arms, and will 
find themselves saved from the scourge of a bloody war, and of 
ail the evils which the march of an array into their country 
would draw after it. 

" We direct that these presents be read, published, and posted 
up in the usual places. ' 



Early Governors of the Illinois Country. 157 

" Done and given at Head-Qnarters, New York. Signed with 
our Land, sealed with onr seal at arms, and countersigned by 
our Secretary, this 30th December, 1764. 

''THOMAS GAGE, [l. s.] 
" Bj His Excellency, 

G. Matuein." 

This proclamation quieted the apprehensions of the French, 
Bome of whom liad fled to St. Louis on the arrival of the Eng- 
lish. Capt. Sterling died three months after his arrival, and 
early the next spring the English troops went down the Missis- 
sippi, and took a vessel from Pensacola for Philadelphia, arriv- 
ing there ou the 15th of June, leaving the place without a gar- 
rison.* 

Major Fraserf succeeded Captain Sterling as military governor, 
who, after a short term, was succeeded by Col. Reed. The latter 
made himself odious to the French inhabitants by an oppressive 
system of legislation, ill-suited to the former subjects of the 
benevolent St. Ange. The next in command was Coh Wilkins, 
wJio arrived at Kaskaskia September 5th, 1768. On the 21st of 
November following, he received orders from Gen. Gage to 
establish a court of justice. Seven judges were immediately 
appointed and the first English court ever convened in Illinois, 
held its sessions at Fort Chartres, December 9tli, 1768. It is 
not known how long Wilkins remained in office, or what Eng- 
lish governor succeeded him. It is known, however, that St. 
Ange returned from St. Louis, and again acted as Governor of 
Illinois, after having acted in a similar capacity over the Spanish 
town across the river.;}: 

Pontiac attended the great Indian Peace Council, convened at 
Oswego in 1766, by Sir William Johnson, agreeable to his 
promise made to Croghan at Detroit. 

Here with eloquence he resigned his mighty ambitions to the 
"will of the Great Sj)irit, who had decreed that his race should 
be friends to the English," and put the seal of sincerity upon his 
words, with a large belt of wampum. Leaving the council he 
started in his canoe for his home on the Maumee, loaded with 
presents from Johnson to take to his wives. Three years later 
lie appeared in St. Louis, clad in the full uniform of a French 
officer, which had been presented him by the celebrated Montcalm 
ten years before. Thus accoutered, he crossed over to the Illinois 

*Col. Records of Pa.,Vol. IX., p. 318. 

fBoth Ppck and Brown erroneously gfive this commandant's name as Farmer. 
It should be Fraser, the same who first advanced to the place Irom Ft. Pitt. 

^Reynold's Hist, of 111., p. 60. . 



158 Death of Pontiao. 

shore to attend a social gathering at Caholda. Here he joined in 
the tnranltuous gaiety of frontier life, to which the whisky bottle 
contributed its full measure of influence. He soon became intox- 
icated, when a miscreant of the Illinois tribe stealthily crept up 
behind and despatched him with a hatchet. St. Ange, at this 
time Governor of St. Louis, conveyed his body over the river and 
buried it with the honors of war, beside the fort. 

A barrel of whisky was the reward which the assassin received 
for the bloody deed, and an English fur trader, named William 
son. was the infamous giver and instigator of the disgraceful work, 
probably under an impression that he had lionized himself in the 
estimation of the English, whose rule had but recently begun 
here. The Illinois tribes approved the act under a similar mis- 
apprehension, but they soon paid dearly for it. The northern 
tribes, to whom the name of Pontiac was still dear, were stung to 
madness and nearly exterminated them in the fearful vengeance 
which was soon visited upon their heads. The horrors of Starved 
Rock grew out of this vengeful war; where, as tradition has it, 
a large band of Illinois took refuge for safety, but were hemmed 
in on all sides till.the whole band died with the lingering torments 
of starvation. 

The Illinois tribes never recovered from this blow, especially as 
their potent allies, the Erench, could no longer protect them as 
they had done ever since 1685, in the days of LaSalle andTonty, a 

?eriod running througli three generations. h\ 1736, when the 
Uinois tribes were in their glory under their alliances with the 
French, D. Artagutte, the dashing Canadian, applied to them for 
assistance in their war against the Chickasaws, in the far-oif regions 
of the present State of Mississippi, between whom and the Erench 
of New Orleans a sanguinary war was raging. 

Chicago, the sapient chief, who was named long after the Chi- 
cago portage, was known by the same honorable appellation, en- 
tered heartily into D. Artugette's plans, and at the head of 500 
braves followed him to the country of the Chickasaws, where they 
were to join their force to that of Bienville, to act in conjunction 
against the formidable enemy. Bienville failed to reach the des- 
tined place appointed for the junction, but the undaunted Illinois, 
with the fifty French soldiers who accompanied them, led on by 
Artagutte, succeeded in taking two Chickasaw forts, but on at- 
tacking the third and last, Antagutte fell wounded, and was taken 
prisoner. Thus repulsed, Chicago led his men back to the Illinois,* 
and the victorious Chickasaws bore in triumph savage trophies of 
their victory to Oglethorpe, the Governor of Georgia, with whom 
they were in alliance. 



^Monettes Miss. Val. Vol. I., P. 286, 287. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The English attempt to prevent Settlements "beyond the Ohio 
River — Early Commercial Policy — The Northioest An- 
nexed to Canada — Battle of Point Pleasant — Logan — Rev- 
olutionary Sentiments. on the Frontier — Girty, Elliot and 
McKee — The Continental Congress — The Issue among the 
Indians — Expeditions against St. Joseph — George Rogers 
Clark — His Expedition against the Illinois Coventry and 
Yincennes — Indian Council at Cahohia — Father Gihault — 
Francis Yigo — War Declared Betxoeen England and- Spain 
— Its effect on the Illinois Country. 

With nations as with individuals, a sudden accumulation of 
power or wealth bewilders the senses at first, till time can reduce 
the accelerated force applied to the driving wheels, or, in other 
words, restore tranquility to the overstitnulated brain. Though 
England has never been conspicuous for such infirmities, yet she 
was not proof against them, and when her crown became enriched 
by the acquisition of the Valley of the Mississippi, her first de- 
termination was to prevent any settlers from appropriating any 
part of the acquired territory, and to this end King George III 
issued the following instructions : 

"Geokge, R. 

[l. s.] Instructions to our well beloved John Penn, Esquire, 
Lieutenant Governor of our Province of Pennsylvania, in Amer- 
ica, given at our Court of St. James, the 2tl:th day of October, 
1765, in the Fifth year of our Reign. 

WJiereas, it hath been represented unto us that several persons 
from Pennsylvania and the back settlements of Virginia have 
migrated to the westward of the Alleghany mountains, and these 
have seated themselves on lands contiguous to the river Ohio, in 
•express disobedience to our Royal Proclamation of October, 1763, 
it is therefore our AVill and Pleasure, and you are herebj'^ strictly 
enjoined and required to use your best endeavours to suppress 
Buch unwarrantable proceedings, and to put a stop to these and 



160 The Northwest Annexed to Canada. 

other the like encroachments for the future, by causinor all per- 
sons belonwincj to the province under your government who have 
thus irregularlj' seated themselves on Lands to the westward of 
the Alleghany mountains immediately to evacuate those settle- 
ments, and that you do enforce, as far as you are able, a more 
strict obedience to our commands signihed in Our Said Royal 
Proclamation, and provide against anv future Yiolence thereof." 

"G. R."* 

What ambitious end England had in view through this im- 
practicable scheme lias never been brought to light, but it is na 
far-fetched deduction, that in her overweening care to provide for 
her nobility by birth, as well as those knighted for services to the 
State, she intended to parcel out the fairest portions of the 
acquired territory for their benetit. But if such a dream had 
ever entered the brain of any loyal representative of English 
power, the illusion was soon dispelled by the wide-spread and 
irrepressible pioneer spirit of her Colonial subjects along the 
Atlantic coast. Had these been tempered after the pattern of 
the Canadian French, such a scheme could have been made a 
success, but destiny never decreed them to become the willing 
instruments of their own subordination to any power above that 
of their own creation, and the allurements of the forest soon be- 
came irresistible to the ambitious spirits of young Anglo-Saxon 
blood, chafing to distinguish themselves by a bold push into the 
wilderness. 

Spain now held Louisiana, which consisted of New Orleans 
and the west bank of the Mississippi, and an elibrt to bring the 
trade of the Illinois country into northern channels was now 
contemplated by General Gage and Sir AVilliam Johnson, who 
together represented the head-centre of political power.f But 
the extra expense of transportation by the northern routes pre- 
sented insurmountable obstacles in the way, and was destined still 
to do so for the next half-century. 

Meantime, the American Revolution was beginning to cast its 
shadow before its coming, even on the extreme borders of Vir- 
ginia and Pennsylvania, and clearly manifested itself in the 
English i)olicy with the Indians. While these issues were com- 
ing to the surface, the French towns of the Illinois again reposed 
in quietude. 

On the 2nd of June, 1774, the British Parliament passed an 
act which extended the limits of Canada, so as to include all the 



♦Note. — Besides the Royal Proclamation referred to above in 1765, a Pro<'la- 
mation was issued bv Gov." Gage as late as 1772, of similar import, which may 
be Ibund in Dillon's 'ind. p. 86. The proclamation to Gov. Pennhere quoted U 
taken from The Colonial Records of Penn. \ ol. IX, p. oiJl. 

tDoc. Hist. N. Y.', Vol. II, pp. 340-342. 



Battle of Point Pleasant. ' 161 

territory north of the Ohio River to the hikes. This extraor- 
dinary measure was regarded by the English Colonies as a bid 
for Canadian loyalty, in the event of an open rupture. But it 
was soon followed by other British measures, which gave con- 
vincing proofs that in such an event the British intended to 
make the most out of an alliance with the Indians that their 
services could bring to the cause. 

Early in 1773, Lord Dunmore, the last Colonial Governor of 
Yirginia, withdrew the troops from Fort Pitt. The next year, 
owing to some cold-blooded and nnprovoked murders, committed 
by Cresap, Greathouse and others against peaceable Indians, 
the war-whoop again rung along the border, and a large arm}^ was 
raised to protect the frontier against the exasperated savages. 
A large detachment of it were ordered to advance down the Ohio 
river, under command of Col. Lewis. Reaching Point Pleas- 
ant, at the mouth of the Kanhaway, while the army lay en- 
camped, October 10th, 1774, it was attacked by a heavy force of 
Indians, nnder the celebrated Chiefs Cornstalk, Red Hawk and 
Logan. The battle raged from sunrise to one o'clock with un- 
flinching courage on both sides. The loss of the whites was 
double that of the Indians, but the desperate resolution of th§ 
former finally prevailed, and the Indians, mostly Shawanese, 
withdrew during the succeeding night. 

The family of Logan were among the murdered victims of 
Cresap, which fired the resentment of the hitherto peacable hero 
to desperation, and drew from him the speech that gave him im- 
perishable fame. 

The following extract from the American Pioneer, gives the 
speech verhatim, together with the circumstances connected with 
its immediate reception: 

" In the spring of the year 1774, a robbery was committed by 
some Indians on certain land adventurers on the rivei Ohio. 
The whites in that quarter, according to their custom, undertook 
to punish this outrage in a summary way. Captain Michael 
Cresap, and a certain Daniel Greathouse, leading on these par- 
ties, surprised, at different times, traveling and hunting parties 
of the Indians, having their women and children with them, and 
jriurdered many. Among these were unfortunately the family 
of Logan, a chief celebrated in peace and war, and long distin- 
guished as the friend of the whites. This unwortln^ return pro- 
voked his vengeance. He accordingly signalized himself in the 
war which ensued. In the autumn of the same year a decisive 
battle was fought at the mouth of the Great Kanhaway, between 
the collected forces of the Shawanese, Mingoes, and Delawares, and 
a detachment of the Yirginia militia. The Indians were de- 
feated and sued for peace. Logan, however, disdained to be seen 



162 Logan's S']}eecK 

among the suppliants. But lest the sineeritj of a treaty should 
be disturbed, from which so distinguished a chief absented him- 
self, he sent, by a messenger, the following speech to be delivered 
to Lord Dunmore. 

" * I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Lo- 
gan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if ever he came 
cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of 
the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, 
an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the wliites, that 
my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, ' Logan is the 
friend of white men.' I had even thought to have lived with 
you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last 
spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations 
of Logan, not even sparing my women and children. There 
runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. 
This called on me for revenge. I have souglit it; I have killed 
many; I have fully glutted my vengeance: for my country I re- 
joice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor a thought that 
mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not 
turn on his heel to save his life. Wlio is there to mourn for Lo- 
^an? Not one.'" 

Mr. Jefferson wrote his Notes on Virginia, as he states, in 
1781-2. They were first published in Paris, and afterwards in the 
United States. In 1797, great excitement was raised against 
him by the Cresap interest, in which it was, among other things, 
insinuated that he wrote the speech himself. Mr. Jeiferson de- 
fended himself in an appendix to his Notes. 

The Indian towns were now at the mercy of the victors, espe- 
cially when the main body advanced across the Ohio, under 
Dunmore himself But instead of pushing the defeated Indians 
to extremities, he convened a council and made peace with them 
on generous terms. 

At Fort Gower, near the mouth of the river Hockhocking,' 
on the 5th of November, 1774, the officers of Dnnmore's army 
held a meeting, at which one of them spoke as follows: — "Gen- 
tlemen: Having now concluded the campaign, by the assistance 
of Providence, with honor and advantage to the colony and our- 
selves, it only remains that we should give our country the 
strongest assurance that we are ready at all times, to the utmost 
of our power, to maintain and defend her just rights and privi- 
leges. We have lived about three months in the woods, without 
any intelligence from Boston, or from the delegates trom Phila- 
delphia.'^ It is possible, from the gronndless reports of design- 
ing men, that our country may be jealous of the use such a 

* The Continental Congress, which convened on the 5th September, 1774. 



The American Revolution Begins. 163 

body would make of arras in their hands at this critical June- 
ture. That we are a respectable bod)^ is certain, when it is con- 
6idt3red that we can live weeks without bread or salt; that we 
can sleep in the open air, without any covering but that of the can- 
opy of heaven; and that our men can march and shoot with any in 
the known world. Blessed with these talents, let us solemnly en- 
gage to one another, and our country in particular, that we will 
nse tliem to no purpose but for the honor and advantage of 
America in general, and of Virginia in particular. It behooves, 
us, then, for the satisfaction of our country, that we should give 
them our real sentiments, by way of resolves, at this very alarm- 
ing crisis." The following resolutions were then adopted by the 
meeting, without a dissenting voice, and ordered to be published 
in the Virginia Gazette. 

'■'■Resolved, That we will bear the most faithful allegiance to 
his majesty, King George the Third, while his majesty delights 
to reign over a brave and free people; that we will, at the ex- 
pense of life and everything dear and valuable, exert ourselves 
in support of the honor of his crown, and the dignity of the 
British Empire. But as the love of liberty, and attachments 
to the real interests and just rights of America, outweigh every 
other consideration, we resolve that we will exert every power 
within us for the defense of American liberty, and for the sup- 
porting of her just rights and privileges; not in any precipitate, 
riotous, and tumultuous manner, but when regularly called forth 
by the unanimous voice of our countrymen." 

These words may be taken as a representative type of the back- 
woods feeling which two years later declared itself in an open 
declaration of Indej)endence, but yet there were among these 
headstrong borderers a few men, intensiiied in their hatred to 
civilized society, who cast their lot among the Indians as a choice, 
and allied themselves to the English cause, not from principle, 
but as a means wherewith to ventilate their spite against any- 
thing that stood in the way of their low-bred ambition. Simon 
Girty, George Elliot and Alexander McKee were noted examples 
of this kind of nondescript waywardness, destined to exert a po- 
tent influence in the comino; strii<>;i!:le. 

In 1774 the lirst Continental Congress assembled in Philadel- 
phia. The next year, 1775, Gen. Gage, awakening one morning 
in his quarters in Boston, beheld with astonishment the heights 
of Bunker Hill furtilied. A iierce battle followed. Canada was 
invaded the same year by Arnold and Montgomery. 

The same year, while the Continental Congress was holding 
its second session in Philadelphia, Commissioners were appointed 
to occupy Fort I'it^ for the purpose of maldng treaties with the 



164 Indian Ideas of the lievolution. 

Indians in favor of the forthcoming government. To offset this 
policy, the British inangnrated a similar one for their own ben- 
efit from Detroit. As a resnlt, two prominent Delaware Chiefs, 
Buckono'ahelas and "White Eves, took the stnmp amono- the 
denizens of the forest as exponents of the rival claims of the 
belligerants to savage support. Euckongahelas, the friend of 
the JEnglish, spoke first, as follows : 

"Friends! listen to what I saj' to you! You see a great and 
powerful nation divided! You see the father fighting against the 
son, and the son against the father! The father has called on his 
Indian children to assist him in punishing his children, the 
Americans, who have become refractory. 1 took time to con- 
sider what I should do — whether or not I should receive the 
hatchet of my father to assist him. At first I looked upon it as 
a family quarrel, in which I was not interested. However, at 
length, it appeared to me that the father was in the right, and 
his children deserved to be punished a little. That this must be 
the case, I concluded from the many cruel acts his oftspring had 
committed, from time to time, on his Indian children, in en- 
croaching on their land, stealing their property, shooting at and 
murdering, without cause, men, women, and children. Yes, 
even murdering those who, at all times, had been friendly to 
them, and were placed for protection under the roof of their 
fathers' house — the father himself standing sentry at the door at 
the time.* Friends! often has the father been obliged to settle 
and make amends for the wrongs and mischiefs done us by his 
refractor}^ children, yet these do not grow better. No! they re- 
main the same and will continue to be so as long as we have any 
land left us.' Look back at the mnrders committed by the Long- 
knives on many of our relations, who lived peaceable neighbors 
to them on the Ohio. Did they not kill them without the least 
provocation? Are they, do you think, better now than they were 
then?" 

To this speech White Eyes, the friend of the new government, 
then without a name, replied: 

"Suppose a father had a little son whom he loved and in- 
dulged while young, but, growing up to be a 3'outli, began to 
think of having some help from him, and, making np a small 
pack, bade him carry it for him. The boy cheei-fuUy takes the 
pack, following his father with it. Tlie father, finding the boy 
willing and obedient, continues in his way; and, as the boy 
grows stronger, so the father makes the pack in proportion larger 
— jet as long as the boy is able to carry the pack, he does so 

*Allucling to the murder of the Conestoga Indians. — See Gordon's History 
OF Pennsylvania, 405. 



White Eyes' Sjpeech Printed hy Congress. 165 

without grumbling. At length, however, the boy, having arrived 
at manhood, while the father is making up the pack for him, in 
comes a person of an evil disposition, and, learning who was the 
carrier of the pack, advises the father to make it heavier, for 
surely the son is al)le to carry a large pack. The father, listen- 
ing rather to the Itad adviser than consulting his own judgment 
and the feelings of tenderness, follows the advice of the hard- 
hearted adviser, and makes up a heavy load for his son to carry. 
Tiie son, now grown up, examining the weight of the load he is 
to carry, addi-esses the parent in these words: ' Dear father, this 
pack is too heavy for me to carry — do, pray, lighten it. I am 
willing to do what I can, but I am unable to carry this load.' 
The father's heart having, by this time, become hardened, and 
the bad adviser calling to him, 'whip him, if he disobeys and 
refuses to cany the pack,' now in a peremptory tone orders his 
son to take up the pack and carry it ofi", or he will whip him, and 
already takes up a stick to beat him. ' So! ' says the son, ' am I 
to be served thus for not doing what I am unable to do? Well, 
if entreaties avail nothing with you, father — and it is to be de- 
cided by blows whether or not I am able to carry a pack so 
heavy — then I have no other choice left me but that of resisting 
your unreasonable demand by my strength; and so, striking each 
■other, we may see who is the strongesr.' " 

This absurd meta]3hor was considered worth preserving by 
i)oth governments, as models of that gushing style of logic 
wherewith to influence the Indian mind. Buckongahelas' speech 
was printed by officers in the British Indian Department, and 
White Eyes' speech was printed by a committee appointed by 
the Continental Congress on the 13th of July, 1775.* 

The British had strong garrisons at Detroit and Michilimac- 
inac at this time, and a small garrison at St. Joseph, to preserve 
their interests at the Southern extremity of Lake Michigan, for 
€ven in that early day this locality was regarded with favor. But 
St. Joseph was looked upon as a place of more promise than 
Chicago, on account of the superiority of her river as a harbor. 

Wlnle the brains and the muscle inherited from the ancient 
Briton's were lajnng the dimension stone on the Atlantic coast 
for a new nation, the French inhabitants of Vincennes and the 
Illinois country, in blissful ignora.ice of the ruling policy of the 
country, were cultivating their flelds in common, and sharing the 
harvest of a summer's toil with the harmony of bees. By the 
year 1777, howevei-, one year after the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, an erratic emigrant from Pennsylvania, named Tom 

'American Archives, 4th S. Vol. II, p. 1880. 



166 iSt. Josejih Taken from the British. 

Brady, who had settled at Caliokia, planned an expedition ao^ainst 
the British post of St. Joseph. Tiie place was garrisoned bj 21 
soldiers, but Bardy's party, relying- ujH>n the prestige of a sur- 
sprise, felt coniidence in their ability to take it, although their 
own force numbered but 16 men. Accordingly they took ad- 
vantage of night to come upon the place, when the astonished 
garrison gave themselves up as prisoners. On returning, the in- 
vaders had proceeded no further than the Calumet river, when 
thev were attacked by a party of British and Indians, number- 
in «•" 300. Two of Brady's party were killed, and Brady, with the 
remainder of his party, taken prisoners. Not long after- 
wards, he managed to make his escape, and threaded tlie forest 
back to his native place in Pennsylvania. Subsequently he re- 
turned to Cahokia, where he became Sheriff of St, Clair county 
in 1790.* 

Earl}' the next spring a daring Frenchman named Paulette 
Maize, enlisted a force of 65 men from the Frencli towns of the 
Illinois, and from St. Louis, and marched against the same place, 
to re-take it. The expedition was successful, and all the fura 
and peltries in the fort were taken from the British as the spoil 
of war. Many of the most prominent citizens of Cahokia were 
in this expedition. f 

Returning to the frontier of English settlements, we lind such 
dauntless spirits as Dr. Walker, Boone, Kenton, Zane, Harrod, 
McAffee, and others, pushing into the wilderness realms of Ken- 
tucky, building stockades and making settlements, while the 
forest was infested with British emissaries, urging the Indiana. 
to take up the tomahawk against the Americans. 

Prominent among these pioneer spirits was Col. Geo. Rogers. 
Clark, a native of Albemarle county, Va. All the^^e backwoods- 
men were conspicuous for their loyalty to the cause of American 
Independence, and the field they had chosen wherewith to brin^ 
aid to that cause, was adapted to their frontier accomplishments, 
and proved effectual, both as a diversion and a palliation, to di- 
minish the force of Indian invasion on the frontier. This was 
the immediate incentive of Clark, in a plan of which he was the 
first projector, to take possession of Vincennes and the Illinois 
villages, and set up the authority of the new government in those 
distant posts, as a nucleus of power round which the Indians 
could gather. The infant settlements of Kentucky were then 
begun, {\nd Clark was among them, but left for Virginia on the 
' first of (- ctober, 1777, for the purpose of laying his plan before 



♦Western Annals, p. 696. Reynold's Hist. 111. p. 68. 
fWestern Annals, p. 697. 



Clarke Takes Kaskaskia. 16T 

Patrick Henry, the Governor. On the 10th of December he 
had an interview with him, and laid his plans before him. 

After several interviews. Governor Henry gave his consent, 
and immediate preparations were made to put them into execu- 
tion. The utmost secresy was necessary to its success, for had it 
been known in advance, the English could have sent a sufficient 
force from Detroit to take the whole party prisoners ere they 
arrived on the ground. As a blind to the real destination of the 
expedition, Governor Henry first gave Clark instructions to pro- 
ceed to the Kentucky settlements with his force, for the purpose 
of defending them against Indian attack. These were published, 
and gave rise to some murmurs among the revolutionary spirits 
of the border that soldiers should be sent on such an errand 
when they were needed in the front to fight the British. 

The expedition embarked from Pittsburgh, •' shot the falls,'* 
as Clark expressed it, at Lowisburg, on the 24th of June, kept 
on down the river to a little above Fort Massac, fifty miles above 
the mouth of the Ohio, and from thence they marched across the 
country to Kaskaskia. 

On the 4th of July, 1778, when night had shed its gloom over 
river, grove and prairie, the people of Kaskaskia were startled 
by the cry, " If any one enters the streets^ he shall he shot ! '* 
The terrified inhabitants remained in their houses during the 
fearful night, and when morning came a few of the principal 
citizens were seized and put in irons. Every avenue of escape 
was cut off, and the wretched inhabitants, who had been told by 
their British Governor Rochblave, that the Longknives (Ameri- 
cans) were barbarous and cruel to the last degree, began to think 
their barbarity had not been overrated, nor were their fears 
quieted on beholding the uncouth motions of their conquerors, 
so different from the graceful manners of the French, who had 
brought with them the blandishments of Paris to be reproduced 
in the American wildei-ness. 

Under these painful forebodings, Gibault, the Priest, and 
others, with deep humility, approached the General who com- 
manded the rough band, at whose feet the town lay prostrate. 
The very first attempt to parley with him was eml)arrassing, for 
on entering his quarters, among the muscular backwoods officers 
who were around him, there was no distinction in etiquette or 
dress, and the perplexed Priest was obliged to ask who the com- 
mander was. On being informed, a painful pause ensued for the 
want of words wherewith to frame the requests he was about to 
make. The suspense over, Gibault, in an attitude of supplica- 
tion, begged the privilege that his people might depart in peace, 
without being separated from their families, and hoped a smalf. 
allowance of provisions might be retained by them for their im- 



7^ 




168 The Grand Door. 

mediate wants; which mild request was accompanied with an 
assurance that many of the inliabitants had frequently expressed 
themselves in favor of the Americans in their contest with the 
mother country. 

Up to this moment Clark had wrought upon their fears only. 
!Novv came the sunny side to the front, and never did the nobility 
masked beneath a rough exterior, in the bosom of the forest 
ranger, show to better advantage. In brief words he informed 
them that the Americans came not to deprive them of their lib- 
erty, or to interfere with their religion, or to plunder them of 
their property. The shackles were now taken from the captives 
and freedom proclaimed to all. The people were now in trans- 
ports. The bells were rung and the streets were vocal with song, 
and gayety reigned throughout the town. 

On the 6th of February France had acknowledged the Inde- 
pendence of the United States. The news came to Gen. Clark 
while on his way down the river, in a letter from Col. Campbell, 
at Fort Pitt. Nothing could have been more timely for Clark, 
as he depended on an accession to his number from the French 
in order to complete his plans for the conquest of the country, 
and this news would help his cause. He therefore lost no time 
in proceeding to business, and opened recruiting quarters at once. 
The ranks for a company were soon filled with newly enlisted 
Frenchmen, eager to serve in a cause that had already been es- 
poused by their country. Cahokia and all the other French 
towns acquiesced in the new order, and contributed their quota 
to fill the ranks of Clark's little army. 

The success which had thus far attended Clark was but the first 
steps in the work before him. The whole country was full of 
Indians who had been conquered by the English in the recent 
war, and were now reconciled to them, all the more as they were 
dependent on them for supplies. 

During the progress of the American Revolution thus far, the 
English traders and agents had been busy in the forests, inflam- 
ing the minds of the Indians against the Americans by the most 
absurd falsehoods, impressed upon their savage sensibilities by 
forest eloquence. To overcome this influence was all important, 
and Clark set about the business with masterly skill. The most 
influential Indian chief in the whole country was The Grand 
Door, so called be ause his influence was so potent over the 
tribes along the Wabash river that no one would presume to en- 
ter its valley on an important mission, without first consulting 
him. To Capt. Helm, one of Gen. Clark's officers, was entrusted 
this delicate business. The first thing to do was to explain to 
The Grand Door the nature of the contest between the Ameri- 
r.uis and the Enirlish in such a manner as to leave no doubt in 



Indian Councils. 169 

his majesty's savage instincts as to the justice, and, especially, 
the ultimate success of the American cause — the latter point be- 
ing no less important in Indian diplomacy than in civilized. 

With these instructions Capt. Helm started for the headquau-i 
ters of the Grand Door, located in a Piankeshaw village close by 
Yincennes. Arriving safely at the latter place, he was well re- 
ceived by the French inhabitants, there being no English gar- 
rison there at the time. The Door was then sent for, and on his 
arrival a letter was given him from Gen. Clark. He received it 
with becoming dignity, and promised to lay its co'ntents before 
his people. For several days they held council over the matter, 
when the chief returned to Yincennes and announced to Capt. 
Helm that he was now a Big Knife, meaning that he had es- 
poused the cause of the Americans. The evening was spent in 
merriment suited to the occasion. 

No sooner was it known that The Grand Door had become a 
"Eig Knife," than all the other tribes of the country visited 
Capt. Helm's quarters at Yincennes, and gave in their adhesion 
to tlie Americans. The news of this accession of strength was 
promptly sent by an Indian messenger to Gen. Clark, at Kaskas- 
kia. Meantime, it was soon spread among the tribes throughout 
tlie entire Illinois country. A council was convened at Cahokia, 
with their representative chiefs, to whom Gen. Clark, after ex- 
plaining to them the nature of the contest between the Ameri- 
icans and the English, made the following speech to them : 

" You can now judge who is in the right. I have already told 
you who I am. Here is a bloody belt and a white one; take 
which you please. Behave like men: and don't let your being 
surrounded by the Big Knives cause you to take up the one belt 
with your hands, while your hearts take up the other. If you 
take the bloody path you shall leave the town in safety, and may 
go and join your friends, the English. We will then try, like 
warriors, who can put the most stumblingblocks in each other's 
way, and keep our clothes longest stained with blood. If, on the 
other hand, you should take the path of peace, and be received as 
brothers to the Big Knives, with their friends, the French, should 
you then listen to bad birds that may be flying through the land, 
you will no longer deserve to be counted as men, but as creatures 
with two tongues, that ought to be destroyed without listening 
to anything that you might say. As I am convinced you never 
heard the truth before, I do not wish you to answer before you 
have taken time to counsel. We will, therefore, part this even- 
ing: and when the Great Spirit shall bring us together again, 
let us speak and think like men with but one heart and one 
tongue." 



170 Vincennes Occupied by the British. 

The next day the cliiefs returned, and before the Council 
fires, which were still burning, presented Clark the sacred Pipe, 
after wavino^ it toward the heavens and the earth, an impressive 
way of calling lu'av(Mi and earth to witness their bond of i)eaco 
anil alliance with the J>ig Jvnives. News of these successes 
were now sent to Gov. Henry, of Virginia, when, at a session of 
the General Assembly, an act was passed laying out a county 
called Illinois county, which eml)raced Vincennes, as well as the 
French vilhiircs of the Illin(»is. Jhit before suitable oliicers 
could arrive on the ground to carry the act into efi'ect, Henry 
Hamilton, the British Lieut. Governor of Detroit, came down 
upon Vincennes M'ith 30 J>ritish i-egulars, 50 French soldiers en- 
listed at Detroit, and 400 Indian Warrior'-. 

He arrived at the place on the 15th of December. Soon as ho 
was within hailing distance Capt. Helm, who was still there, 
cried out "Halt! " This stopped the advance of Hamilton, who 
in turn demanded a surrender of the garrison. " On what 
terms?" demanded the tenacious defender. "The honors of 
war," was the reply. The fort was surrendered, with its garrison 
of one soldier, named Henry, and ono ofllcei-. Helm himself!* 

Capt. Helm was held as prisoner, and the French inhabitants 
having already taken the oath of allegiance to the United States, 
were disarmed. The news of this untoward event soon came to 
Clark at Kaskaskia, who saw at once his pei'il. A British army 
lay in the ]>ath of his reti-eat, backed by a confederacy of Indi- 
ans who would doubtless turn against him at the lirst check he 
might receive, 

While his fertile genius was on the rack for expedients where- 
with to sustain himself, a Spanish trader, named Francis Vigo^ 
came to his (piartcrs with news from Viiu'cnnes. He informed 
Clark that Hamilton, being under no apprehension of an attack, 
had sent away the largest portion of his force to blockade the 
Ohio, and cut off his retreat, and with the first opening of spring 
at\ attack was to be made on the Illinois villages. His resolution 
was immediately taken. Vincennes, the head-center of these 
machinations, must be captured. "If I don't take Hamilton, 
Hamilton will take me," said Clark. 

It was now the 21.)th of January, and so prompt were tho 
French iidiabitants of Kaskaskia to assist the Americans, that by 
the 4th of February everything was ready. The artillery and 
stores for the expedition were ])laced on a light draught vessel, 
under command of one of his officers named John Kogers, ta 
be transported down the Mississippi, and up the Ohio and Wa- 
bash rivers, to the destined tield of operation against the post. 



♦Butler's Kentucky, p. 80. 



Clarke Marches Against Vincennes. 171 

Tlie next day Clark liimself, with 175 men, a pari of wliona 
were French njcniits, took up their rrianth acrosH the country I'or 
tlie same destination. On tliC! 17th they reached the bankn of 
tlie Wahash, hut how to gain the oppoHite haidc of tlie river, 
where the fort stood, was a problem more diflicult of solution in 
the mind of Clark, than how to take the fort after lie had crossed, 
for the late rains had Hooded the broad intervals alont^ tlie river, 
and far above and below a fcjrest rose up throui^h the swollen 
waters, mirroring its leafless branches, invertec' mto a picturesque 
minige. 

I'he morning gun of tlie fort was heard af tlie perplexed in- 
vaders took u]) their tents, aiter a night's res . Eafts were now 
made, and a few trusty Frenclimen dispatdicd across the mys- 
terious waste, to steal boats from their moorings, outside of 
the unsuspecting town. This hazardous adventure proved a 
success after three days, during which time the army of (Jlark 
had been toiling througli the flooded intervals of the Wabash, 
along the shallowest portions, endeavoring to gain its immediate 
bank. 

On the 21st the army crossed the turhulent stream in the 
boats stolen by the scouts, and now its labors were redoubled. 
The ground in advance was now reconnoitred in a canoe, and the 
de])tli of the flood sounded, hy Clark himself I'his done, he 
blackened his fac(; with powder, and gave the war-whooj>, as if he 
had been an Indian, and marched intcj the water without saying 
a word. Jlis comrades followed, under the inspiration of a war 
song, which was joined in along the whoh; line. Far along to 
the left a ridge rose above the waste of waters, where some open 
Bheds had been built lor a sugar camp. Here they spent the 
night, and the next day resumed their watery march towards the 
fort. For three days they had fasted, but on arriving at Vin- 
cennes the Fi'cnch stealthily brought provisions to the camp, 
and the siege began. 

The resistance was determined for awhile, but the c^>urage and 
audacity of the beseigers knew no bounds, and after a spirited 
parley, iramilton surrendered the foi-t, with its garrison, num- 
bering 79 men, on the 24th of February, 1770, an<i with this 
liurrender the Northwest passed out of English hands into the 
immediate possession of the Americans, except the posts which 
the former still held alang the lakes.* 

*NoTE. — Tho followinj; from Law's IliHtory of Vinconnfs Ih copiod an but a 
'just triVjut/c; to tho patriotiKm of Oibault and Vi^jo: I'i(!rre GiWault, Parish Priest 
at ViriwnnfjH, and ocoasioniilly p<;ribriTiiritr his apo tolic duties on the MissiH- 
eippi, was at Kaskaskia in 1778-9, when Oon. (ylark captnnid tliat p];i/;(;. The 
BervicoH h(i rendered (JIark in ttiat rampaijfri, which were acknowled(;<;d by a 
fwolulion of the Legishiture of Virginia, in 1780 — his patriotisni, his Ba/;rificeH, 



172 Stores Arrive at Viticennes. 

Here the British power still lingered. On the 27th the vessel 
arrived with the stores, its hero-commander mortitied and incon- 
solable that he had not been able to reach the scene ot operations 
in time to ferrv Clark's armv across the river, and bring to his 
srallant soldiers the provisions thev so much needed duriuir their 
three days of fasting. Among the prisoners taken at Vincennes 
were some young Frenchmen, enlisted by Hamilton at Detroit. 
These were released, on their taking an oath that they would not 
ficrht acjain against the Americans iJurinor the war, and were sent 
home, with abundant supplies to serve their wants on the way. 

hi? coura^ and love of liberty, require of me a fuller notice of this sood man 
and pui-e patriot, than I have been enabled to irive in the published address. 
Father Gibault was a Jesuit missionary to the Illinois at an early period, and 
had the curacy of the parish at Kiii^kaskia when Clark took possession of that 

fost: and no man has paid a more sincere tribute to the services rendered by 
ather Gibault to the American cause, than Clark himself. It was a matter of 
deep importance, especially after the arrest of Rochblave. the commandant at 
Kaskaskia. for Clark to conciliate, if possible, the ancient inhabitants residing 
at Kaskaskia. This he effectually did through the agency of Father Gibault. 
Through his influence, not only were the French population of Kaskaskia in- 
duced to supply the troops with provisions and other necessaries, but to receive 
the depreciated coHtiuiNtal paper cunency of Virginia at par. for all supplies 
thus furnished. Vigo addin^r his guai-antee for its redemption, and receiving it 
dollar for dollar, not only from the soldiers, but from the inhabitants, until it 
became entirely worthless. Father Gibault. but especially Vigo, had on hand 
at the close of the campaign, more than twenty tliousand dollars of this 
worthless trash [{he only funds, however, which CUvrk had in his miUtary chest.) 
and not one dollar of which was ever redeemed, either for Vigo or Father Gi- 
b;tult. who. for this worthless trash, disposed " of all liis cattle, and the tithes of 
his parishoners.'' in orvler to sustain CUvrk and his troops, without which aid 
they must have surrendered, surrounded as they were, by the Indian allies of 
the British, and deprived of all resoun?es but those furnished by the French 
inhabitants, through the persuasion of Vigo anJ Father Gibault. But more 
tliau this. Through the influence of these men. when Clark lett Kaskaskia for 
the purpose of capturing Hamilton and his men at post Vincennes. a company 
of fifty young Fi-enchmen was at Kaskaskia. who joined Clark's troops, under 
the command of Captain Charlevoix, who shared in all the perils and honors of 
that glorious campaign, which ended in the capture of the Post, and the sur- 
render of Hamilton, an event moi-e important in its consequences than any 
other occurring during our revolutionary struggle. 

It was entirely through the means of Father Gibault that Hamilton released 
Col. Vig\i. when sent by Chvik to ascertain the true situation of attiiirs at Vin- 
cennes. He was captured by the Indians and taken to '" Fort Sackville." where 
he was kept a prisoner on p;vrole for many weeks, and released, entirely by tlie 
interference of Father Gibault, and the declaration of the Fivnch uihabitants 
at Vincennes. who. with their priest at then- head, after service on the Sabbath, 
ma'ched to the fort luid informed Hamilton "they would refuse all supplies to 
the garrison unless Vigo was released." Ot that ivloase. and the important 
eflect of Vigo's information to Clark ou his i-eturn to Kaskaskia. in refeivnce 
to the_ capture of the post by Hamilton. I have iilreadv spoken. Xest to Clark 
and Vigo, the United States ai-e indebted more to Father liibault for the acces-. 
sion of the States, comprised in what was the original Xorth-Westem Terri- 
tory, than to any other man." 

i'he records oV this benevolent man are still preserved in the church at Kas- 
kaskia. — [ACTHOU. 



St. Joseph Tal-en hy the Sjyanish. 173 

On their arrival at Detroit, they did good service to the Ameri- 
cau cause by congratulating- themselves that their oath did not 
bind thenii not to tight for the Americans, if a chance offered. 

A large convoy of stores and provisions were on their way 
from Detroit to Yincennes when the Americans took it, which 
was intercepted on the way hy a detachment under command of 
Oapt. Helm, who by the late capitulation of the place was now 
released from the bonds of a war prisoner, and again an officer 
in Clark's little army. The amount of clothing, })rovisions, etc., 
was more than sufficient to supply all the wants of the garrison, 
and stinted rations and rags were now substituted with plen- 
teousness an^ comfortable garments. On the 7th of March 
Clark sent Colonel Hamilton, with eighteen of his principal sol- 
diers, to Virginia, as war prisoners, under an escort of 25 men. 
Soon after their arrival. Hamilton was put in irons, and confined 
in a dungeon, debarred the use of pen, ink and paper, and ex- 
cluded from all communication with any one except his keeper. 
This was done to punish him for having offered premiums to the 
Indians for white scalps. For this offense he wfts ever afterwards 
called "The hair buyer."* The severity of his sentence was 
soon afterwards mitigated by order of continental court-martial. 

Early in 1779 a war broke out between England and Spain, 
which was subsequently followed by an acknowledgment of the 
Independence of the United States by that power, though with 
a bad cjrace, as if dracjcred into the reluctant admission bv the 
force of circumstances. Withal, however, the hostile attitude of 
the two nations, England and Spain, was not without its intiueuce 
in preserving the conquests achieved by Clark, inasmuch as it 
secured the alliance of the then Spanish town of St. Louis to the 
American cause, and interposed a weighty obstacle in tlie way of 
any attempt on the part of the English to retake the Illinois 
country or Yincennes, while St. Louis was their ally. 

Instead of this being attempted, St. Louis took the offensive 
herself as an ally of America. On the 2nd of June, 17S1, Don 
Eugenie Pierre, a Spanish officer, marched from St. Louis with 
65 men against the British post of St. Joseph. The place was 
taken, and with overreaching ambition the commander went 
through the forms of taking possession of the country in the 
name of Spain, but retired shortly afterwards to St. Louis. 

By virtue of this insignificant conquest, Spain subsequently 
attempted to establish a claim to the country intervening between 
Lake Michigan and her own territory west of the Mississippi. 

'Jefferson's Correspondence, Vol. I, p. 455. 



174 iSt. Louis Attacked. 

While these events were transpiring in the "West, the armies 
of En<j!:land and America were brandishing their battle-blades in 
each other's faces, with stubborn courage on both sides, and when 
fighting ceased, among other issues settled, the conquests of the 
West and its consequent destiny, were not forgotten. 



At this time the population of St. Louis, according to Hulchins, was 800 
white and l-'iO colored people, and being- a Spanish town, it was legal plunder 
for the Englis 1. Accordingly, an exp dition was set on foot against it from the 
British post of Michilimackinac, estimated at 1,50J men, most of whom were 
Indians. 

While Clark was waiting at Kaskaskia, saj's Stoddard in his sketches, 
"The commandant of Michilimackinac in 178) assembled about 1,500 Indians 
and 140 English, and attempted the redaction of St. Louis. During the short time 
they were before that town 60 of the inhabitants were killed, and 30 taken 
prisoners. Fortunately, Gen. Clark was on the opposite side of the Mississippi 
with a considerable force. On his appearance at St. Louis with a strong detach- 
ment, the Indians we.e amazed. They had no disposition to quarrel with any 
other than the Louisianians, and charged the British with deception. In fine, 
as the jealousy of the Indians was excited, the English trembled for their safety, 
and secretly abandoned their auxilaries and made the best of their way into 
Canada. The Indians then retired to their homes in peace. This expedition, 
as appears, was not sanctioned by the English court, and the private property 
of the commandant was seized to pay the expenses of it, most likely because it 
proved unfortunate." 

This account has been quoted by able historians, and is doubtless correct, ex- 
cept as to the assistance credited to Gen. Clark as offeiing to help defend the 
town. This Avas impossible, as he had left the country previous to that time, 
but, without doubt, the respect with which his gallant conduct had inspired the 
Indians of the immediate country around had its effect on the Indian force from 
Michilimackinac, and, besides saving St. Louis, prevented them frcim attacking 
the towns of Southern Illinois, which then were in a hostile attitude to British 
rule, either as French or American towns, both of which countries were at war 
with England. 

Auguste Chouteau says that Clark rendered the town no assistance. This 
:Bettles the point as to the question, for he was one of the original- settlers un- 
der Laclede's grant, and must have been an eye-witness. The shameful con- 
duct of Leyba, the Lieutenant-Governor at the time, was an excess of treachery 
Ecldoni equalled. Previous to the attack he sent all the powder away, but for- 
tunately a trader had eight barrels of this precious specific, which the defenders 
.appropriated for the occasion. Not content with this dereliction, he spiked 
fiome of the cannon of the defenders; but despite these ubstacle>!, the courageous 
soldiers stood to their places, and beat back their numerous assailants with a 
courage seldom equalled. The storm of indigna*^ion which the traitor Leyba 
met after the battle, was too much for him to live under, and he sickened and 
died shortly afterwards, tr.idition says from poison administered by his own 
Ihand. Tliis account is taken from Stoddard, Hall, Maitin, and the Western 
Annals, neither of which appear to have details as full as could be desired, es- 
ipecially as it is the only siege or battle that ever occurred at St. Louis. 



CHAPTER X. 

Moravian Settlements on the Muskingum — Premonitions of 
the American Revolution — British Emissaries Among the 
Indians — Forts Mcintosh and Laurens Built — Desperate 
Attack on the Latter — The Siege Raised hy Hunger — The 
Moravians Remooed — Mary Heckwelder^s Account — Horri- 
hle Slaughter of the Exiles — Crawford'' s Expedition Against 
Sandusky — The Enemy Encountered — (Jrawford Taken 
I*risoner — His Aiqful Death hy Fire — Peace — Complex Di- 
plomacy at the Treaty of Paris — Firmness of Jay Tri- 
umphant. 

The few sparse settlements in Kentucky already made, still 
maintained their ground, althouo;h constantly menaced by Indians 
on the war-path, while the Alleghanies interposed serious bar- 
riers between them and any succor from the parent State in case 
of an attack. 

No attempt had yet been made at settlement on what might 
with propriety then have been called the Indian side of the 
Ohio, except the Moravian settlements. These had been in pro- 

fress on the Muskingum river since 1762. Christian Frederic 
'ost (the same who in 1758 executed the heroic mission to Fort 
Pitt,) and his co-worker, John Heckwelder, at that time set up a 
tabernacle there for worship. The missionary spirit was the in- 
centive to their enterprise, but to facilitate their work in this di- 
rection, they purchased small parcels of land of the Indians, made 
an opening in the forest, planted lields of corn, and soon they 
were surrounded with plenty. The celebrated David Ziesburger 
joined them in a few years, and the towns of Shoenbrun, Gnad- 
enhutten and Salem, were built within an area of ten miles, near 
the present site of New Philadelphia, in Tuscarawas county, 
Ohio. 

This could not be called a white settlement, yet it repre- 
sented Christian civilization, as developed by the teachings of the 
Moravian missionaries, whose heroic faith had been inherited 
from the martyr Huss. Since that remote period this remarka- 
ble people had been disciplined by a school of three centuries of 



176 Fort Mcintosh Built. 

persecution, durino; which time their courage had become the 
. admiration of the Protestant world. They had ever been in its 
van breakin^^ np the fallen ground, ready to be tilled by more 
elFeminate Christians, 

Their attempts on the Muskingum had thus far been a success, 
but unhapj)ily for them they still held to the doctrines of non- 
resistance, with unshaken faith, tliat God's Providence would 
safely lead them through the dangers tliat surrounded them. 

However plausible or practicable such a theory might be in 

■ times of peace, it became a fatal illusion when the fires of revo- 
lution kindled along the Atlantic should shake the border into 
fury, as was soon to be the case. When the centre is disturbed, 
how much more is the circumference agitated. 

The borders of Pennsylvania and Virginia were now daily be- 
coming more exposed to dangers, as the British emissaries among 
the Indians excited them to take the war-path, and the Conti- 
nental Congress passed a resolution to send a force into the inte- 
rior, with a view of taking Detroit, the western supply depot, 
where the Indians obtained the means wherewith to keep up the 
war. 

In May, 1778, while the expedition of Clark was about starting 
on its mission, Brigadier General Lachlin Mcintosh, of the Con- 
] tinental Army, was placed in command of the Western Depart- 
ment, with his head quarters at Ft. Pitt. The following October, 
" at the head of a small force of regulars and militia, he descended 
the Ohio and built a fort thirty miles below Fort Pitt, which 
X, was named Fort Melntosh. This was the first stockade ever built 

■ \ by Americans on the Northern side of the Ohio. 

For prudential reasons, probiibly for the want of means, the 
Continental Congress now instructed him to abandon the original 
design against Detroit, but in lieu thereof, to make an incursion 
into the interior for the purpose of overawing the Indians, With 
this intent he took up his march at the head of 1,000 men, intend- 
ing to attack Sandusky, but on reaching the Muskingum he 
encamped, and concluded to defer the attack against the objec- 
tive point till the coming spring. Here he built Fort Laurens, 
so named in honor of the President of the Continental Con- 
gress. He left Colonel John Gibson in command of the post 
with 150 men, and returned with the main body to Fort Pitt. 

All these movements were reported to the English commander 
at Detroit, who, as might be expected, at once laid his plans to 
capture the audacious Americans, who had dared to make a 
stand in the heart of the country. 

It will be remembered that Francis Vigo, the Spanish trader 
of St. Louis, who arrived at Kaskaskia in January, brought 
information to Clark that Hamilton had weakened his forces by 



Siege of Fort Laurens. 177 

sending away large detachments against the frontiers, and that 
Clark, taking advantage of this incautious movement, had marched 
against Yincennes and taken it. It may therefore be inferred that 
Fort Laurens was tlie decoy duck which gave Yincennes to the 
Americans, 

Late in January, 1779, the threatened attack was made on the 
fort, and kept up till March with desperate resolution. The 
garrison successfully resisted every assault of their besiegers, 
though they environed the post by means of their numbers, and 
gave them no respite either by night or day. 

Starvation soon began to threaten them, but, happily for the 
besieged, the besiegers were in a similar predicament, and the 
sanguinary contest now became a rivalship, not of courage and 
muscle only, but a trial of endurance under the pangs of hunger- 
While the enemy were thus beset with perplexity, how to obtain 
provisions till they could press the siege to a successful issue by 
starving out the garrison, while they themselves were gaunt with 
hunger, they proposed to Gibson, the commander, to raise the 
siege if he would give them a barrel of flour. The offer was 
promptly accepted, as a device to conceal the desperate straits to 
which the garrison was reduced. The flour was sent outside the 
palisade, and some meat with it, which the hungry Indians and 
their companions devoured like a pack of wolves, and vanished 
iu the forest, taking their course for Detroit. 

The last savage yelp soon died away with the retreating foe, 
and silence took the place of the bedlam of war-whoops that had 
echoed about the place for two months. A runner skilled in 
woodcraft was now selected to hasten to Fort Mcintosh with all 
possible dispatch, and obtain supplies. With the shyness of a 
fox venturing from his lair, the bold ranger left the fort and 
safely reached his destination, a distance of fifty miles, through 
an unbroken wilderness, when a band of scouts were immedi- 
ately sent with provisions for the relief of the hungry garrison, 
in their frontier hermitage. Here they remained till the fol- 
lowing August, when the fort was evacuated. 

Fort Mcintosh was evacuated soon afterwards, which left no 
representation of American interests between Yincennes and 
Fort Pitt. With the exception of a part of the Delawares, all 
the Indians of the country now became active allies of the Eng- 
lish. The Moravians, or praying Indians, as they were some- 
times called, were, in accordance with their faith, neutral. 

Their villages laid in the war-path of their savage brothers, 
and when a hostile war party were returning from a successful 
incursion into the white settlements, dragging their wretched 
captives into their distant lodges in the wilderness, they often 
quartered on these apostate savages, who durst not refuse them 



ITS The Moravian Converts. 

shelter. On tliese occasions tlie griefs of the captives were al- 
ways mitigated as far as possible by acts of kindness from their 
hosts, if such a name may be applied to the dispenser of an en- 
forced hospitality. 

Colonel Depu3'ster then commanded in Detroit as the 
successor of Hamilton, and seeing the danger of these people, he 
mercifully interposed between tliem and the subtile liostility by 
which they were victimized by their neutrality from both sides, 
and ordered their removal to the neighborhood of Sandusky. 
This decree was enforced upon the unwilling Moravians by two 
hundred W^'andottes under the command of British officers. 
Their ci-ops were left standing in the field, ready for the harvest, 
when they were forced away from their homes, to find new shel- 
ter and a precarious subsistence for the coming winter among 
their unfriendly brethren, who were only restrained from open 
hostilitv ao^ainst them by the British ofiicers. 

Among the evil geniuses of the forest at that time, was Simon 
Girty, a native of Western Pennsylvania. When a boy he had been 
taken captive by the Indians, and adopted into the Seneca tribe. 
Among them he had won distinction as a forest ranger, and 
would gladly have spent his life with them, but when Bouquet 
made his successful expedition to the Muskingum, Girty, with 
other captives, was returned to civilization. The next year he 
rose to the rank of a commissioned oificer in the Pennsylvania 
militia, but two years later deserted to the British, and joined the 
hostile Indians of the forest with Elliot,* a tory of equal notorie- 
ty. Both of these became prominent leaders among the savages, 
Girty rivaling them in ferocity. His spite against the Moravian 
converts was unmeasured. While these unhappy exiles were be- 
ing conducted from their homes on the Muskingum to Sandusky, 
some care liad been taken to mitigate their woes, which so en- 
raged Girty that it was with difficulty he could be restrained 
from assaulting them with a tomahawk after their arrival.f 

*Commodore Elliot of the TJ. S. Navy was his nephew. 

fThe following account of the affair is copied from the American Pioneer, 
Vol. II, pp. 224 and 225, as a contribution to that valuable work by Mary Heck- 
welder, daughter of the celebrated Moravian missionary and historian. She 
was the first white child born in Ohio. 

*' Bethlehem, Pa., Fehrtiary 24th, 1843. 
"J. S. Williams, Esq. 

"Dear Sir: — Yours of the 31st ult., to Mr. Kummen, post master at this 
place, has been handed to me. I have not been in the habit of making much 
use of my pen for a number of years; I will, however, at your request, endeavor 
to give you a short account of the first four years of my life, which were all I 
spent among the Indians, having since lived in Bethlehem nearly all the time. 
My acquaintance or knowledge of them and their history, is chiefly from books, 
and what 1 heard from my father and other missionaries. 

" I was bom April 16th, 1781, in Salem, one of the Moravian Indian towns, 
on the Muskingum river. State of Ohio. Soon after my birth, times becoming 



The Victims Entrapped. 179 

Here they remained till February, when permission was given 
to a part of them to return to their homes on the Muskingum, to 
harvest their corn, wliioh was still standing. 

While engaged in this labor on tlie 6th of March, a company 
of borderers came to them in an apparently friendly spirit, and 
proposed to them to remove to Pittsburg for safety, and with oily 
words enticed them to give up their arms and go into two houses 
to remain for the night. This done, Williamson, the leader of 
the band, took counsel with his comrades as to the fate of the en- 
trapped victims. 

All in favor of sparing their lives were ordered to step forward. 

very troublesome, the settlements were often in danger from war parties, and 
from an encampment of warriors near Gnadenhutten; and finally, in the begin- 
ning' of September of the same year, we were all made pi-isoners. First, four 
of the missionaries were seized by a party of Huron warriors, and declared 

Srisoners of war; they were then led into the camp of the Delawares, where 
le death-song was sung over them. Soon after they had secured them, a num- 
ber of warriors marched off for Salem and Shoenbrun. About thirty savages 
arrived at the former place in the dusk of the evening, and broke open the mia- 
Bion house. Here they took my mother and myself prisoners, and having led 
her into the street and placed guards over her, they plundered the house of every- 
thing they could take with them and destroyed what was left. Then going to 
take my mother along with them, the savages were prevailed upon, through 
the intercession of the Indian females, to let her remain at Salem till the next 
morning — the night being dark and rainy and almost impossible for her to travel 
BO far — they at last consented on condition that she should be brought into the 
camp the next morning, which was accordingly done, and she was safely con- 
ducted by our Indians to Gnadenhutten. 

. I' After experiencing the cruel treatment of the savages for sometime, they 
were set at liberty again; but were obliged to leave their flourishing settlements, 
and forced to march through a dreary wilderness to Upper Sandusky. We 
•went by land through Goshachguenk to the Walholding, and then partly by 
water and partly along the banks of the river, to Sandusky creek. All the way 
I was cari-ied by an Indian woman, carefully wrapped in a blanket, on her back. 
Our journey was exceedingly tedious and dangerous; some of the canoes sunk, 
and those that were in them lost all their provisions and everything they had 
Baved. Those that went by land drove the cattle, a pretty large herd. The 
savages now drove us along, the missionaries with their families usually in the 
midst, surrounded by their Indian converts. The roads were exceedingly bad, 
leading through a continuation of swamps. 

"Having arrived at Upper Sandusky, they built small huts of logs and bark 
to screen them from the cold, having neither beds nor blankets, and being 
reduced to the greatest poverty and want; for the savages had by degrees stolen 
everything both from missionai'ies and Indians, on the journey. We lived here 
extremely poor, oftentimes very little or nothing to satisfy the cravings of hun- 
ger; and the poorest of the Indians were obliged to live upon their dead cattle, 
which died for want of pasture. 

"After living in this dreary wild(;rness, in danger, poverty, and distress of all 
Borts, a written order amved in March, 1782, sent by the governor to the half 
king of the Hurons and to an English officer in his company, to bring all the 
missionaries and their families to Detroit, but with a strict order not to plunder 

nor abuse them iu the least." 

• • - • « « « 

•* Respectfully yours, 

"Makt Heckewelder.'* 



180 Massacre of The Morrvians. 

Of the 90 men who composed the party, only 18 stepped for- 
ward, leaving T2 in favor of killing them. 

This decision was immediately made known to the nnhappy 
victims, when the nnexpected decree was replied to with earnest 
entreaties tliat their lives might be spared, but lamentations and 
supplications were unavailing to the iron-hearted scouts. They 
however, postponed the execution of the sentence till morning, to 
give them time to prepare for death in their accustomed spirit of 
devotion. The night was spent by the victims in prayer and 
singing, while their executioners stood guard outside to prevent 
escape. In the morning all was ready on both sides. The Mora- 
vians were tranquil, and their executioners unrelenting, and the 
work began. 

. Through apertures in the walls of the building the muzzles 
of the guns were pointed, and the shooting was continued till 
the last faint groans of the victims had died away in silence, and 
all were prostrated, as was supposed, into a pile of lifeless corpses. 
But beneath the ponderous weight of dead bodies a youth of six- 
teen managed to lind his way through an aperture in the floor, 
and escaped thence into the woods. Another boy also escaped 
after being scalped, and both lived to tell the tale of woe which 
had whelmed 94 of their countrymen in death. 

To the credit of our government be it said, that Williamson's 
li)and were not in the continental service, and that their bloody 
work was execrated throughout the country. 

Border life, in those days, furnishes inexhaustible material for 
romancers and poets, as well as historians, for extremes in the 
bent of the human mind were brought into contact there, untram- 
meled by the restraints of law, or even of society, and if exam- 
ples of man's noblest nature were nurtured into being b}'^ the 
severe discipline of frontier privations, it is not strange that cor- 
responding extremes of evil purposes should also be brought to 
the surface by the extremities resorted to to accomplish required 
results. 

The war was contested with a stubborn courage on the part of 
the English, more for what the country was destined to be than 
for what it then was, and no means were left untried to secure the 
inheritance of nature which opened before their prophetic vision 
to the West. This disposition was contagious, and the roughest 
side of border life gathered force like a tornado when the inno- 
cent Moravians were murdered. 

Here were unmeasured forests bespangled by a thousand 
streams, and further beyond them oceans of wild prairie, all wait- 
ing themagic touch of civilization to re-produce the wonders of 
Europe on an improved plan. To accomplish this, was worthy 
the ambition of the English, who with characteristic confidence 



Expeditions to Take Sandusky. 181 

in themselves thought they eonld do it better than their rebel- 
lions children. The ultimate fate of the Indians was not consid- 
ered. That would take care of itself. Meantime, if their irre- 
pressible dash, or even their ferocity could be extemporized into 
use in order to bring about the desired result, the end justified 
the means in their estimation, though it brought desolation and 
cruel death to the borders of American settlements. 

During the rev^olution the borderers had been wrought up to 
such a pitch of excitement, that long after the army of Cornwal- 
lis had surrendered, and fighting had ceased between the Ameri- 
can and British armies, the war was continued with unremitting 
severity on the frontiers. 

Throughout the Western portions of Pennsylvania and Vir- 
ginia, every man, and even every boy, could handle a rifle with a 
dexterity seldom equaled by the trained soldiers of regular armies. 
Most of the British havin«: been driven from the field after the 
surrender of Cornwallis, the success of the revolution was no 
longer doubted, and the fertile fields across the Ohio, as future 
homes, now began to attract attention. 

Under such auspices an expedition was planned in May, 1782, 
to march against Sandusky, take the place and seize upon the 
country. The enterprise was a private one, though it was ap- 
proved by General Irvine, who then held command of Fort Pitt. 
Each soldier furnished his own horse and equipments at his own 
expense, with no expectations of any other pay than what might 
result from the success of the adventure. The party numbered 
480, among whom were most of the men who had partaken in 
the massacre of the Moravians a few weeks before. 

They elected their officers by ballot, and their choice fell upon 
William Crawford, a man wlio had been a com])anion of the 
youthful Washington, when he was only a backwoods surveyor, 
unmindful of his future destiny. 

Col. David Williamson was second in command, the same who 
had led the murderous expedition against the Moravians, from 
which it would appear that the consciences of the raiders was not 
sensitive as to the means to be used whereby the Indians should 
be conquered into submission. 

Everything being in readiness, on the 25th of May the com- 
pany dashed into the wilderness, each man well mounted and 
laden with twenty days' provisions. On the fourth day they 
reached Gnadenhutten, the scene of the late Moravian massacre. 
Here the bodies of the victims, men, women and children, laid 
without burial, in a horrible ])ile of decay, mingled with the ashes 
of the building which was burnt over their lifeless remains. The 
fields of corn were standing, with no one left to harvest them, 
and afforded ample ])r()vondor for their horses. 



182 The Retreat, 

Passing on in a westerly course, they soon came to the San- 
dusky plains, where Wyandotte Co. now is. Here they expected 
to find the Wyandottes in force, but in this they were mistaken. 
A voiceless solitude of prairie hazel brush and oak openings ex- 
tended far and wide.''^ Not an Indian or Britisher was seen, but 
slyly as the Thugs of India, the stealthy foe liad dogged their 
trail, crawling around their camp at night, and fleet-footed mes- 
sengers had reported their numbers, and the course they were 
taking ev^er since they had crossed the Muskingum. 

Near the present site of Upper Sandusky the enemy was en- 
countered, among whom was the notorious Simon Girty and El- 
liot. Crawford immediately took a sheltered position in a grove, 
and succeeded in maintaining the supremacy during the action. 
The next day the fight was renewed, but Crawford still kept the 
savages at a respectful distance by means of his sharp-shooters. 
The third day the Indians were reinforced by a company of Brit- 
ish cavalry from Detroit. All hope of final victory was now 
abandoned, and the retreat was commenced at nine o'clock the 
succeeding evening. By skillful skirmishing the Americans suc- 
ceeded in getting outside the enemy's lines, and making a brief 
halt, to their dismay their commander was missing. 

But there was no time to look for him, for the victoriouii 
enemy were pressing upon their rear in overwhelming numbers, 
and now while the defeated raiders are flying: homewai^d with the 
exultant foe in hot pursuit, the fate of Crawford will be told. 

Duvino^ the bewilderment of the nicjht retreat Crawford had 
been cut ofi" from the main body and captured, together with 
several others, among whom was Dr. Knight. Most of the cap- 
tives were tomahawked wdth little ceremony, but Crawford, the 
big Captain, as the Indians called him in derision, was reserved 
for an especial object on whom to satiate their vengeance. When 
brought to the place of execution, among the red demons who 
were assembled to take part in the revelry, was Simon Girty. 

Nine years before, during his residence near Pittsburg, he had 
lived in the same neighborhood with Crawford, and the unhappy 
victim seeing him, a faint ray of hope flashed into his frozen 
heart as he was stripped naked and tied to the fatal stake. 

There were the faggots, and vengeful hands to apply them, 
and there was Girty, his former neighbor, who had often sat at 
his table in the free and easy companionship peculiar to frontier 
men and hunters, but the face of the white savage was cold and 
forbidding. "Do they intend to burn me ?" inquired Crawford 
of Girty. "Yes," was the reply. " I will take it all patiently," 
said the stoical Colonel, and the work began. 

*This was the condition of Wyandotte county as late as 1839, at which timd 
the writer passed through it soon after the removal of the Indians. 



Crawford Diss hy Fire. 183 

His tormenters, with a keen discrimination, economized the 
vital spark in their victim to the longest span, in order to make 
the most of him. For three hours he continued to breathe, while 
the whole surface of his body had been punctured with the burn- 
ing ends of hickory sticks. 

At last the voice of prayer was heard in low but audible words. 
A hideous squaw now, in the vain attempt to bring fresh tor- 
tures to the dying man, emptied a shovel of coals on his back as 
he laid prostrate,"face downwards, but insensibility had come to 
his relief, and he manifested no sign of pain. Soon afterwards 
he arose to his feet, and walked around the post to which he had 
been tied, and again laid down for the last time. Dr. Knight 
was now taken away, and nothing more was known of his last 
moments, except what was gathered from those who took part in 
the fiendish work. 

Dr. Knight was treated only as a prisoner of war, and ulti- 
mately was returned to his home. 

According to Heckwelder, the Moravian historian of those 
times, Crawford was tortured in revenge for the barbarous work 
of Williamson's men a few weeks before, on which occasion for- 
ty-two women and children had shared the fate of the men in the 
indiscriminate butchery. 

Perkins, author of the Western Annals, says that Crawford's 
command started into the forests with the avowed purpose of 
killing every red man, woman or child, who came within the 
reach of their rifles. As much may be inferred from some of the 
cotemporary relations. But C. "W. Butterfield, who has lately 
published a complete history of the whole expedition, taken from 
documents, manuscripts and tradition, has discredited the defamers 
of the expeditionists, and exonerates Crawford, at least, from any 
complicity in the slaughter of Gnadenhutten. Here it is proper 
to say, however, that the horrors of Gnadenhutten served to 
Boften the hearts of the hostile Indians towards the Christian In- 
dians, and even the impervious Girt}" was no longer their enemy. 
These conditions would go to strengthen the theory, that Craw- 
ford's awful fate was the result of the Moravian massacre, al- 
though he was innocent of anv murderous desiirn aijainst the Indi- 
ans, as Mr. Butterfield, his charitable biographer, has indicated. 

"My country, right or wrong," is the best apology the histori- 
an can make for the style of warfare which had been waged 
against the Indians ever since 1774, when Cornstock and Logan 
raised the tomahawk in revenge for the unprovoked slaughters of 
Cresap, Greathouse, and others. xVnd thus it was, that the fron- 
tiers of the colonies had been lashed into fury by the war, and 
could only be lulled into quiet by a permanent peace with Eng- 
land. 



184 Peace Negotiations. 

After fighting had ceased, and negotiations were opened for 
peace, the first point to be settled was, on what terms the Amer- 
icans should treat, which, in fact, involved the chief point at 
issue. ISTobody saw this in a clearer light than the American 
Commissioners themselves. Jay, Adams, Franklin and Laurens, 
with a tenacity worthy their high calling, refused to treat in any 
capacity, except as a sovereign and independent nation. This 
was reluctantly conceded by England, and three other points onlv 
remained to be settled: The American rights to the fisheries ot" 
Newfoundland; their liability to indemnify tories for losses 
during the war; and the last and most important of the three, the 
Western limits of the United States. 

The fishery question was disposed of by granting the Ameri- 
cans the right to fish where they pleased. SText, as to indemni- 
fying tories for the loss of their property, either by the ravages 
of war, or the confiscation of their estates, the American Com- 
missioners suggested that it would be equally reasonable for the 
English to make good the private damage their armies did to 
American patriots during their various invasions. This unan- 
ewerable argument settled that point in favor of the Americans. 

Lastly came the boundary question, which was a far more cir- 
cumstantial afiair, and presents one of the most complex condi- 
tions of diplomacy ever recorded in history. 

Spain was then a powerful nation, and was allied to France by 
the closest relations of mutual interest, as each were under the 
rule of a Bourbon. The English were determined to retain all 
the territory described in the Quebec bill of 1774, which made 
the Ohio river the Southern line of Canada. 

Meantime the Count de Aranda, the Spanish Minister, asserted 
the claim of Spain to all the territory between the Mississippi 
and Alleghanv Mountains. 

At this juncture Mr. Jay, with his usual penetration, made the 
discovery that France was set-retly using her influence in favor of 
the Spanish claim. The case was now daily becoming more com- 
plicjited, and the American Commissioners, after some weeks of 
delay, availed themselves of England's willingness to concede the 
boundary of the Mississippi, and signed the definitive treaty 
with her to this effect, without consulting either the French or 
Spanish Ministers. Had the signing of the treaty hung on the 
pleasure of Spain till her consent was obtained to making the 
Mississippi the Western boundary of the United States, it would 
never have been signed, and it is highly probable that England 
would not have conceded this point, if the Spanish claim had not 
presented obstacles in the vs-ay of her retaining the territory in 
question, even if the Americans relinquished it. This considera- 
i.<m, in addition to the American rights by virtue of Clark's con- 



Contingent Diplomacy. 185 

quest, settled the destiny of the Northwest, by placing it under 
the new flag of the United States. It will thus be seen that this 
result Qve-^ out of a rare combination of contingent conditions, 
the miscarriage of any one of which would have defeated its ac- 
complishment. 

John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and Henry Laurens were the 
Commissioners on the part of the United States to negotiate the peace — all able 
men, perhaps the best fitted for the work of any the country afforded. Mr. Jay, 
in particular, distinguished himself by his penetration into the mazes of Euro- 
pean diplomacy, and proved himself more than a match for the Commissioners 
of England, Spain and France, though they had grown grey (to use a metaphor) 
in such service, while he had no other qualifications but his mastex'-mind, and 
his unshaken purpose. The King of England empowered Richard Oswald to 
act with the Commissioners on the part of " The Colonies or Plantations, or any 
body or bodies, corporate or politic, assembly or assemblies, or desci'iption of men, . 
or person or persons whatsoever. ' ' and to ' ' negotiate a peace or truce with the said 
Colonies or Plantations, or any of them, or any part or parts thereof." Count 
"Vergennes, the French Commissioner, advised that these powers and forms were 
sufficient to meet the exigency, and Fr^mklin, in his loyalty to French honor, at 
first coincided with him. But Jay positively refused to negotiate on any basis 
that did not establish the equality of the Commissioners of both countries as a 
starting point. " That the treaty must be the consequence of independence, 
jiiid not independence the consequence of treaty." Franklin and his other con- 
stituents soon saw the importance of this position, and they all united with him 
in the tenacity with which he insisted on it. Whereupon Mr. Oswald, not with- 
out some embarrassment, reluctantly exhibited his seci'et instructions, author- 
izing him in case "The American Commissioners are not at liberty to treat in 
any terms short ot independence, you are to declare to them that you have 
authority to make that concession." The Commissioners then proceeded to 
business, which had not progressed far till Mr. Jay learned with surprise and 
indignation, that Count de Aranda, the Spanish Commissioner, demanded th6 
abandonment of the Mississippi on the part of the United States as a Western 
boundai-y. Nor was this policy confined to the Spanish Court, as there was con- 
vincing evidence to Mr, Jay that France secretly encouraged Spain in this de- 
mand. Franklin at first would not believe it, but Adams, after canvassing the 
matter, coincided with Jay, and Franklin and Laurens were soon forced into the 
eame conviction by the accumulating evidence in its favor. Under these cir- 
cumstances, the American Commissioners signed the treaty of peace with the 
English, without the knowledge of the French Court, as soon as the required 
term.5 were agreed to. This gave rise to some censure on the part of France 
and Spain, but no serious rupture from any quarter", for the following reasons: 
England saw the impossibility of retaining the Valley of the Mississippi herself, 
when both Spain and France opposed it. France had then just begun to feel 
the premonitory symptoms of the feai-ful revolution, which soon followed, and 
Spain had neither friendship nor honor in the issue sufficient to make a serioua 
jirotest after the treaty was signed by the two principal parties. 



CHAPTER XL 

Characteristics and Costume of the Virginia Border Men and 
the Neio England Pioneers — The Ohio Company Formed — 
Marietta Settled — Cession of the Northwest to the United 
States — Sijmes'' Purchase — Columhia^ I^orth Bend and Cin- 
cinnati Settled — Emigration in Arlts — The British on the 
Lakes — Their Relations with the Indians — St. Clair Arrives 
at Marietta as Governor of the Northwest Territory — Courts 
Established — Harmer Invades the Indian Country — The 
French and Indian Villages on the Wabash Destroyed. 

Hitherto the Virginia ranger, among whom were a few back- 
woods Pennsylvanians, were the only Anglo-Americans who had 
crossed the Ohio river. 

These men had been trained amidst the toils and excitements 
of camp-life from infancy. The crack of the rifle was a famil- 
iar sound to them, and the Indian war-whoop not an unfrequenfc 
one. 

Their character was moulded from two extremes. The first 
and fundamental one was the high-bred civilization of their 
fathers, and the other, was the intiuence which their collision 
with the savages had exerted over them. This had stimulated 
their heroic virtues, and also whetted their revenge to a wiry 
edge. 

Into the wilderness they had marched — their feet clad with 
moccasins, after the Indian pattern — their hunting-shirts faced 
with a fringe, and sometimes ornamented with wild-cats' paws 
for epaulettes. The inevitable leathern belt which they wore was 
as heavy as a horse's surcingle of modern days, and from it de- 
pended sockets for a tomahawk, a large knife, and a pistol. A 
heavy rifle, bullet-pouch and powder horn, com])leted their outfit 

Such were the men, whose vaulting ambition in making the 
conquest of the country beyond the Ohio, had wrenched away the 
iewel which the heroic Wolfe in his dying moments, on the 
neights of Abraham, had bequeathed to the English crown. 

Another element now comes to the scene. The NewEnglander 
has heard of these fertile valleys, and comes to see them. He is 



pii '' ^ >.i^'^S} '"' I'BteBit 







.,i;iiii 



'* iH|iiii|i 



mi 



'"''m 



'g'jM 






Settlement of Marietta. 187 

dressed in a blue-black broadclotli coat, with a velvet collar stif- 
fened with buckram, and projectini^ its inflexible form above the 
nape of his neck, often coining in collision with the rim of his bell- 
crowned hat as he throws his head back with an air of conscious 
dignity, neither constrained nor ostentatious. His vest reaches 
the entire length of his body, but is cut back, leaving angular 
flaps at the extremities. His feet are shod with ponderous boots, 
imparting steadfastness rather than elasticity to his gait. 

By these men were formed in June, 1786, a corporation called 
The Ohio Company. It was composed of officers and soldiers 
from Kew England, who had served with honor in the war of the 
devolution. On the 23d of ISToveniber, 1787, the stockholders in 
this Company met at Bracket's Tavern, in Boston, and voted to- 
send a corps of forty -eight men to the mouth of the Muskingum 
river, make a survey of public lands for a settlement, cut away 
the forests for a field, and make other preparations for the colony. 

The wood choppers were to receive $4.00, and the surveyors 
$27.00 per month while in actual service, and General Rufus Put- 
nam, the venerable Superintendent, was to receive $40.00 per 
month.* 

The party landed in flat-boats at the mouth of the Muskingum, 
the 7tli of April, 1788, and began to laf out a town which they 
first named Adelphi, but subsequently changed the name to 
Marietta, in honor of Marie Antoinette, the fair Queen of France, 
whose supreme influence in the French Court had been used in 
behalf of Franklin's mission there in 1778, to secure the acknowl- 
edgment of American independence. 

The IsTew England element was here planted for the first time 
beyond the Ohio, and here it ever retained its foothold. But ere 
its destined influence was to make itself widely known and felt, 
the third and last conquest of the country was to be made. 

The first conquest had been made from the French, in the 
French and Indian war, which gave the country to the English. 
The second by the Virginians under Clark, which had given the 
countr}'^ to the United States. But in both of these conquests the. 
natives of the soil saw no infrinorements of their rights, nor 
were there any in theory. Tliey had been invited to take part 
in both of them, and had done so under an impression that the 
nation to whom they had allied themselves, would protect them 
in their natural rights to the soil. But as ill-fortune would 
have it, for them, they had fought on the losing side, first for the 
French against the English, and next, chiefly against the Ameri- 
cans during the Revolutionary War, and had drawn upon them- 
selves the resentment of the Virginians and Pennsylvanians, 

*Hildreth's Pioneer Hist. p. 202. 



188 Cession of The North West to the United States. 

and the Kentucky pioneers, who were now beginning to settle 
that infant state. At no distant day a collision was inevitable 
between them and the Anglo Americans, which was not to be 
coniined to the border, but to be carried into the forest recesses, 
where the ownership of the soil was to be decided bv tlie rifle, 
tomahawk and scalping knife, in a series of campaigns, on a 
far grander scale than any which had yet been witnessed in the 
American forest. 

In 1784, on the 1st of March, the state of Yirginia had ceded 
all her rights in the Northwest to the United States. 

The deed of cession contained the following conditions, viz: 
" That the territory so ceded shall be laid out and formed into 
States, containing a suitable extent of teri-itorv, not less than one 
hundred, nor more than one hundred and litty miles square; or 
as near thereto as circumstances will admit; and that the States 
60 formed shall be distinct Eepublican States, and admitted mem- 
bers of the Federal Union; having the same rights of sovereignty, 
freedom, and independence as the other States. That the neces- 
sary and reasonable expenses incurred by Virginia, in subduing 
any British posts, or in maintaining forts and garrisons within, 
and for the defense, or in acquiring any part of, the territory so 
ceded or relinquished, sftiU be fully reimbursed by the United 
States. That the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other 
settlers of the Kaskaskias, Post Yincennes, and the neighboring 
villages, who have professed themselves citizens of Yirginia, shall 
have their possessions and titles contirmed to them, and be pro- 
tected in the enjoyment of their rights and liberties. That a 
quantity not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand acres of 
land, promised by Yirginia, shall be allowed and granted to the 
then Colonel, now General George Rogers Clark, and to the offi- 
cers and soldiers of his regiment, who marched with him when 
the posts of Kaskaskia and Yincennes were reduced, and to the 
officers and soldiers that have been since incorporated into the 
said regiment, to be laid off in one tract, the length of which not 
to exceed double the breadth, in such place on the northwest side 
of the Oiiio, as a majority of the officers shall choose.* 

Tiie 20th day of May, 1785, Congress passed an ordinance for 
the survey and disposition of that portion of the territory which 
had been purchased by treaty from the Indian inhabitants. For 
caiTying this ordinance into eifect one surveyor was appointed 
from each of the States, and placed nnder the direction of Thomas 
Hutchins, the ffeoirranher of the United States. The territory 
was to be surveyed into townships of six miles square, by lines 

* This reservation was laid oft' on the borders of the Ohio river, adjacent to 
the falls; and the tract was called the " Illinois Grant," or " Clark's Grant." 



Fublio Surveys. 189" 

running due north and south, and others crossing these at right 
angles. " The first line running north and south as aforesaid, 
shall begin on the river Ohio, at a point that shall be found to be 
north from the western termination of a line which has been run 
as the southern boundary of the State of Pennsylvania, and the 
first line running east and west shall begin at the same point and 
shall extend throughout the whole territory." The townships 
were to be numbered from south to north, beginning with !No. 1, 
and the ranges to be distinguished by their progressive numbers 
to the westward; the first range extending from the Ohio to Lake 
Erie, being marked No. 1. The geographer was to attend per- 
sonally to running the first east and west line, and to take the 
latitude of the extremes of the first north and south line, and of 
the mouths of the principal rivers. Seven ranges of townships, 
in the direction from south to north, w-ere ordered to be first sur- 
veyed, and plats thereof transmitted to the board of treasury, and 
so of every succeedinof seven rano-es that should be surveyed. 

After these lands had been advertised for sale, they were to be 
sold at a rate of not less than one dollar per acre, with an addi- 
tion of the expenses of survey, estimated at thirty-six dollars a 
township. Four lots, numbered 8, 11, 26 and 29, were reserved 
for the United States, out of every township. These lots were 
mile squares of six hundred and forty acres. Lot No. 16 was 
reserved for the benefit of schools within the township. 

The States of New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, by 
virtue of ancient royal charters, respectively claimed large terri- 
tories Ivincj north of the river Ohio and west and northwest of 
the western boundary of Pennsylvania. The claim of New York 
was, however transferred to the United States, by a deed of ces- 
sion, executed in Congress on the first day of March, 1781. The 
claim of the State of Massachusetts was assigned to the United 
States on the 19th day of April, 1785; and on the 13th day of 
September, 1786, the State of Connecticut transferred to the 
United States her claim to lands in the West, reserving a tract of 
about three millions of acres, bounded on the north by lake Erie, 
on the south by the forty-first degree of north latitude, and ex- 
tending westwardly one hundred and twenty miles from the 
western boundary of Pennsylvania. This tract was called the 
Western Reserve of Connecticut. Li the month of October, 
1786, the legislature of that State ordered a part of the tract, 
lying east of the river Cuyahoga, to be surveyed, and opened an 
office for the sale of the lands. In 1792, a tract containing about 
five hundred thousand acres of land, lying in the western part of 
the reservation, was granted by Connecticut to certain citizens of 
tliat State as a compensation for property burned and destroyed 
in the towns of New London, New Haven, Fairfield, and Nor- 



190 JSt. Clair Appointed Governor. 

walk by tiie British troops in the course of the E^volutionaiy 
war. The tract thus granted was called the Fire Lands. On the 
30th of May, 1800, the jurisdictional claims of the State of Con- 
necticut to all the territory called the Westeni Keserve of Con- 
necticut was surrendered to the United States. These various 
cessions included all the claims held by old collonial charters to 
any western lands, all of which being transfei-red to the United 
States, it only remained to extinguish the Indian title, in order, 
to possess the country. 

Ou the 5th of October, 1787, Major-Gen. Arthur St. Clair was 
appointed Governor of the ]^orthwest Territory, who was in- 
structed to do this as rapidly as consistent with the peace. 

The new Territorial Government was to go into operation on 
the first of the succeeding February, 1788. Emigration was rap- 
idly coraina: into the country, in flat-boats down the Ohio river, 
and settling on lands already surveyed at Marietta, and ^further 
down on lands known by the name of Symes' Purchase. 

Soon after the settlement had been made at Marietta, Major 
Benjamin Sites, with about twenty men, landed in November, 
1788, at the mouth of the Little Miami river, within the limits 
of a tract of ten thousand acres, purchased by Major Sites from 
Judge Symes. Here they constructed a log fort, and laid out 
the town of Columbia. 

The next month, on the 2'4th, Mathias Denman and Robert 
Patterson, with twelve or fifteen men, landed at the mouth of 
the Licking river, just below, and projected the town of Cincin- 
nati. Losanteville was the first name given to the place, which 
had been manufactured (says Judge Burnet in his notes, page 47) 
" by a pedantic foreigner, whose name fortunately has been for- 
gotten." 

It was formed, he said, from the words Le-os-ante-ville, which 
he rendered " The Village opposite the Mouth." The name was 
not long retained, but by whose authority it was changed, is not 
known. Late in the ensuing autumn, which was in 1789, the 
town was surveyed by Colonel Ludlow. In February of the same 
year a third town was commenced on the same tract of land, at 
llSrorth Bend, just below Cincinnati. This was done by Judge 
Symes himself, the original purchaser of the tract. A few 
months later, a town was laid out and named Symes, but the 
place soon became known only by North Bend, and was destined 
to gain more notoriety as the residence of William Henry Harri- 
son, than by its success as a city. As might be supposed, a feel- 
ing of rivalry existed between the three towns started, each of 
which put forth its best efforts to attract the emigration that was 
rapidly coming into the country, and for a time neither seemed 






' 6\ 







Fori Washington Built. 191 

to eclipse the others in any substantial advantages over the other 
two. 

At this juncture a celebrated charmer came to Cincinnati, and 
her influence turned tlie scales in its favor. The story runs as 
follows: 

Major Doughty, a man no more invulnerable to the tender 
passion than other majors, was ordered by General Ilarmar to go 
down the Ohio, and erect a fort for the protection of the rapidly 
increasing population of the tliree villages. With this intent, he 
landed at the Bend, and soon formed the acquaintance of a fas- 
cinating woman, who was the wife of one of the settlers at the 
place. To avoid his clandestine attentions to his wife, the hus- 
band changed his residence to Cincinnati; but this only served 
to convince the Major that Cincinnati instead of North Bend was 
the most propitious pLace for the fort, and he promptly went 
thither and built a block-house, despite the remonstrances of 
Symes himself.* 

The settlers at the Bend soon deserted the place in favor of 
Cincinnati, partly to put themselves under the protection of the 
the block-house, in case of an Indian outbreak, and partly 
through a conviction that it gave better promise of future pro- 
gress. 

Fort Washington, a more substantial work of defense, was soon 
afterwards built at the place. 

During the early years of Western settlement, the Ohio river 
was the only highway by which the country was reached. Flat- 
boats, known by the special name of arks, with all the appurte- 
nances of cooking and sleeping, were built on the upper tributa- 
ries of the Ohio river, and from ten to twenty families would em- 
bark in a single one for the West. Down the Ohio they floated, 
whither fortune and the current would carry them, landing at 
last in some propitious cove in the river that looked inviting. 
Here the ark is moored, and in it they still make their home, 
till log cabins can be erected on shore. This done, the tempora- 
ry community bi-eaks up, each family setting up for themselves, 
and the new settlement is begun. 

New Design, four miles south of Bellefontaine, in Monroe 
county, Illinois, was settled in this way by some Virginians in 
1781. From the germ planted here, grew to maturity, by con- 
stant accessions from Virginia, and later from Kentucky, the set- 
tlements of Southern Illihois, with their habits and sentiments 
firmly ingrained into their minds, which they inherited from 
Virginia. 

"While the borders of the Ohio river were ^rst being settled, 

* Burnet's Notes, pp. 53-54. 



li^2 St. Clair Afrlves at Marietta. 

the posts of Detroit, Michiliinackinac, Green Bay, St. Joseph, 
Sandusky, JSfiarjai-a and Oswego, were scarcely thought of by the 
Americans. The Britisli still lield garrisons in them, all the 
same as they had done during the American Revolution. 

On the 12th of July, in 1TS3, soon after the definitive, treaty 
of peace had been signed at Paris, Gen. Washington sent Baron 
Steuben to Canada to confer with the Governor, for the purpose 
of transferring these posts to the United States, but to his sur- 
prise, he refused to deliver them up to the Americans, and the 
English continued to hold these posts for the present, although 
the act was in violation of the treaty of Paris, 

From their ramparts waved the red cross of St. George, and 
even in these savage realms the loyalty to the English Govern- 
ment perhaps exceeded that of the Islanders themselves. 

As might be supposed, the English had little confidence in the 
permanency of American institutions, and looked forward to a 
time when the attempt of the Americans to set up a government 
on the plan of universal suff'rage would result in a failure. Un- 
der this expectation the prudential British, with an eye to the 
beautiful as well as their pecuniary interests, lingered on the 
great waters of the interior, waiting to see what the future might 
bring forward; and from these various forts they annually dis- 
tributed large amounts of goods as presents to the Indians, per- 
haps on the same principle that a client, in anticipation of a law- 
suit gives retaining fees to lawyers. 

These acts stirred up bad blood in the hearts of the Americans, 
but there was no remedy. "Washington himself counseled sub- 
mission to the situation for the present, and with that clear vis- 
ion into the future, for which he was remarkable, looked forward 
to a time when "manifest destiny" would drive the English 
awa}'^ from the lakes. 

On the 9th of July, 1788, St. Clair arrived at Marietta, and a8 
Governor of the Northwest Territory, set the necessary machin- 
ery in motion to form a government agreeable to his appoint- 
ment by Washington, the President of the United States. 

The first county was laid out with dimensions large enough to 
inchide all the settlements around Marietta, and was named 
Washington county. About the first of June, 1T90, the Gov- 
ernor, With the Judges of the Superior Court, descended the Ohio 
to Cincinnati, and laid out Hamilton county. A few weeks later 
he, with AVinthrop Sargent, Secretary of the Territory, proceeded 
to Kaskaskia, in the Illinois country, and organized St. Clair 
county. 

Knox county, around Yincennes, was soon afterwards laid out. 
At each of these four counties, courts were established on a model 
which has not been materially changed since. 



Courts Established in the North West. 193 

The Indians beheld these innovations into their country with 
rueful thoughts. The United States had neither surveyed nor sold 
any of these lands that had not been boii<2:ht and paid for through 
treaties with certain chiefs, but it was claimed by the great nifiss 
of Indians that these chiefs had no authority to sell the lands. 

To enumerate the various treaties by which the first purchases 
were made along the Ohio river, would fill a volume with monot- 
onous formula. They are preserved in government archives, but 
are seldom referred to now. 

They were the instruments by which the Indian was driven 
from his native soil, and having executed their mission, are filed 
away like writs of ejectment after having been served. In al- 
most all cases they were signed by the Indians under a pressure 
from which they could not extricate themselves. 

If they signed them they would get pay for their lands, which 
the borders of advancing civilization liad rendered useless to 
them, while if they refused, they would nevertheless be forced 
back without any remuneration. The chiefs could plainly see 
this, but the great masses of red men could not. Neither could 
they understand how, by virtue of these instruments, the white 
man should come among them, cut away the forests, and whelm 
the fabric of savage society in ruin. 

In vain the poetry, the romance, and the conscience of the na- 
tion might lift up its voice in behalf of the poor Indian. There 
was but one way in which he could be saved, which was to beat 
his scalping knife into a plowshare, and till the soil, but he was 
as incapable of doing this as the drones in the hive of industry in 
our day are to contribute to the public weal their share of its 
burdens. 

Having established courts at Kaskaskia and Vincennes, St. 
Clair returned to his headquarters at Cincinnati early in the sum- 
mer of the same year, 1790. During his absence the outcrop- 
ping discontents of the Indians had been made manifest by their 
waylaying the emigrants as they came down the Ohio in arks, 
and unless some means were taken to stop these attacks, this 
great and only highway to the West would soon be closed. • 

This was what the Indians aimed at in their attacks, nor had 
they yet learned the impossibility of the undertaking. 

St, Clair now determined to invade the Indian country to pun- 
ish the disturbers of the peace, and by virtue of authority vested 
in him by the President, lie called for 1,000 militia from Vir- 
ginia,* and 500 from Pennsylvania. 

So careful was President Washington at this time not to pro- 

* The State of Virginia then included Kentucky, in which settlements had 
been made before the Northwest Territory was organized. 



194 Apology to the English for Fighting the Indiana. 

voke a quarrel with the British, that he deemed it imprudent to 
invade the Indian country, without sending an apology to the 
English commander at Detroit, lest he might take oftense that 
the Americans had dared to make war on his allies. The follow- 
ing is the letter which St. Clair sent him : 

*' Marietta, 19th September, 1790. 
" Sir: — As it is not improbable that an account of the military 
preparations going forward in this quarter of the country may 
reach yon, and give you some uneasiness, while the object to 
which they are to be directed is not perfectly known to you, I 
am commanded by the President of the United States to give you 
the fullest assurances of the pacific disposition entertained toward 
■Great Britain and all her possessions ; and to inform you ex- 
plicitly that the expedition about to be undertaken is not in- 
tended against the post you have the honor to command, nor any 
other place at present in the possession of the troops of his Bri- 
tannic majesty, but is on foot with the sole design of humbling 
and chastising some of the savage tribes, whose depredations are 
become intolerable, and whose cruelties have of late become an 
outrage, not on the people of America only, but on humanity ; 
wh?ch I now do in the most unequivocal manner. After this 
candid explanation, sir, there is every reason to expect, both from 
your own personal character, and from the regard you have for 
that of your nation, that those tribes will meet with neither coun- 
tenance nor assistance from any under your command, and that 
you will do what in your power lies, to restrain the trading peo- 
ple, from whose instigations there is too go(Jd reason to believe, 
much of the injuries of the savages has proceeded. I have for- 
warded this letter by a private gentleman, in preference to that 
of an officer, by whom you might have expected a communica- 
tion of this kind, that every suspicion of the purity of the views 
of the United States might be obviated." 

Harmar's whole force amounted to 1,453 men all told. On 
the 2Gth of September Col. Hardin led the advance to cut a road, 
but the main body did not leave Fort "Washington till the 3d of 
October, 1790. 
f The objective point was the Miami village at tlie bend of the 
Maumee, where Fort Wa^'ne now stands. 

After a march of sixteen days. Col. Hardin reached the place 
with the advance, intending to surprise the Indians, but on en- 
tering the village he found it deserted. Their store of corn was 
then rated at twenty thousand bushels in the ear,* which was 
consigned to the flames by the invaders. 

*Brice'8 History of Fort Wayne, p. 125. 



lAttle Turtle Defeats Hardin. 195 

The troops were very disorderly, and despite the efforts of Gen. 
Harmar, who soon arrived with the main body, everything like 
reasonable discipline was impossible. 

After a few days the celebrated chief, Little Turtle, fell sud- 
denly upon Col. Hardin's detachment, while some miles away 
from the main body, and put them to flight with heavy loss. Af- 
ter visiting destruction on another Indian village tM'o miles far- 
ther south, Gen. Harmar took up his march for Fort Washing- 
ton. 

But ere they left the scene of operations, Little Turtle man- 
aged to bring on another battle with a strong detachment under 
Col. Hardin, and severely defeated them. 

The main body were not brought into action with the Indians 
at all, but continued their retreat to Fort Washington, where it, 
"with Hardin's detachment, arrived on the 4th of JSTovember, hav- 
ing lost 183 men killed, besides many who were wounded. 

While this expedition had been in progress. Gen. Hamtramck 
led a force from Yincennes up the Wabash, and destroyed the 
Piankeshaw villages, with their stores. The loss of their corn was 
severely felt' by the Indians, but the prestige of victory was with 
them, and they were much elated with the success that had at- 
tended their arms. 

The Indians were emboldened, and the apprehensions of the 
Bettleraents were aroused, particularly those of the Marietta col- 
ony, who were more distant from succor in case of an Indian raid 
than Cincinnati, as the latter was wathin ready reach of the Ken- 
tucky settlements, where aid could be obtained at short notice. 

After Harraar's expedition, the Indians, firm in the belief that 
the British would make common cause with them in their war 
with the United -States, sent a deputation to Lord Dorchester, 
who then held command at Detroit, to learn from him the amount 
of support they could expect in the coming war. 

Up to this time such inquiries had been answered with meta- 
phor, uttered from the tongues of such villainous apostates of 
civilization as Girty, Elliot and McGee. 

This notorious trio had used every means in their power to 
deceive the Indians into the belief that the English were ready 
to take up the hatchet in their behalf Nor can it be denied that 
tlie English officers themselves had given the Indians grounds 
for such expectations. Indeed, they had, according to savage 
rites, pledged themselves to such a policy by making the Indians 
presents of hatchets, painted red as blood, by which emblem the 
Indian is bound as solemnly as by vows, and he had no reason 
to look upon such a symbol as not equally binding on the part of 
the whites, till he learned to the contrary by experience. 



196 jScoti's Expedition. 

The issue soon came before Lord Dorchester in unequivocal 
form, and he declined the warlike proposals, i^reatly to the disap- 
pointment of his swarthy friends, ^o pretext offered for war- 
with the United States, thanks to the prudence of Washini^ton 
and Jay, by whose flexible but transcendent policy any expecta- 
tions which the English might entertain, of winning jurisdiction 
over the Northwest, had vanished into a forlorn hope. 

Harmar's expedition having made no impression on the In- 
dians, another was planned, to be undertaken the next year, 1791," 
by General Charles Scott. It consisted of eight hundred mounted 
men, the flower of Kentucky bush-flghters, and its destination; 
was the Indian towns on the Wabash above Yincennes. '\\\^^ 
place was soon reached by the mounted scouts, the Indian towns 
destroyed and about fifty prisoners taken, but no decisive action- 
was fought. 

This expedition, like Harmar's, which preceded it, only served. 
to inflame the resentment of the Indians and widen the breach 
between them and the whites into an impassable gulf. 

Scott's raid was succeeded by another similar one under Gen- 
eral Wilkinson, the succeeding sunmier. He went up the Wa- 
bash as far as Ouiatanon, laying waste towns and fields as he 
went. Ouiatanon was then a thriving village of about seventy 
comfortable dwellings, beside manv Indian huts. It was com- 
posed of French, half-breeds and Indians, and many signs of 
progress, such as books and pictures, were manifest in this ■ 
wilderness post. Their fields of corn were cultivated with 
plows, like the English, and their horses and cows were well, 
taken care of * 

The town was burnt and everything destroyed that the invad- 
ers could seize, whether the property of French or Indians. 
They all belonged to a less ambitions race than the Americans. 
The French and Indians had lived together here since 1733,. 
and the hybrid oft'spring that rose up in the forest in conse- 
quence was essentially Indian in social matters, while the French 
themselves manifested no disposition to break throngh the toils 
of savage manners, customs and superstitions. Whatever may 
have been their standard of honor, or their communistic propen- 
sities, of equality and indisposition to eclipse each other in 
wealth or grandeur, these were the last qualifications that 
would recommend them to the favor of Americans, whose motto 
is " Excelsior." 

*Am. State Papers, Vol. v., p. 121. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Little Turtle — Eis Masterly Abilities — Privations of the Early 
Settlers — St. Clair'' s Expedition against the Indians — His 
Defeat — Its Causes — He Resigns — Gen. Anthony Wayne 
Succeeds him — Peace Commissioners on the Canada Border — 
The Indians claim the Ohi,o River as a Boundary Line 
hetioeen Themselves and the Whites — The Terms Inadmissible 
and the Council a Failure. 

Amonjy the forest lieroes whose exploits have made their his- 
tory ilhistrious in their downfall, was a chief named Little Turtle. 
Oii'ted with the essential qualities which make up the model 
i^reat man in civilized communities, and nearl}'- exempt from the 
•eccentricities peculiar to his race, his many virtues shone with 
untarnished lustre amidst the turmoil of the camp and the venge- 
ful spirit of the times. He was not a chief by birth, but rose to 
tliat distinction per force of his merit, both as counselor and 
warrior, and at maturity he became principal chief of the Miamis, 
and the acknowledged leader of the neighboring tribes who had 
confederated themselves together to beat back the white invaders 
of their soil. Immediately after the raids of Harmar, Scott and 
Wilkinson, the forest echoed with the war-wlioop from the 
Muskingum to the AVabash. The Miamis, Chi})pe\vas, Dela- 
Avares, Pottawattomies. Hurons and Shawanese, gathered under 
the banner of Little Turtle, wlio, Avith the assistance of Girty, 
McGee and Elliot, and his subordinate chiefs, constituted the best 
drilled army of Indian warriors that ever lought the wliite man. 
i5t. Clair had foreseen all this vengeful animosity that rankled in 
the hearts of the Indians, and had made preparations to meet it. 
The country over which he had been appointed governor was a 
Avilderness of forest and prairie, tenanted by its native inhabi- 
tants; some of whom, under the tutelage of the French, had 
erected log cabins to live in instead of bark huts. The Americarl 
settlers did not number two thousand in the entire territory. 
They were settled within the limits of Washington county, at the 
mouth of the Muskingum nnd S\)m s' Purcha.-e, on tue Ohio, 



198 Intrigues of Spam. 

embracing Cincinnati and its vicinity. To these may be added a 
few Americans settled amongst the French villages of the Illinois^ 
country, and also among the settle! s at Vincennes. Thriving set- 
tlements had started in Kentucky from the parent State of Vir- 
ginia, and these were the main dependence of the inhabitants 
north of the Ohio river, in case of a sudden Indian outbreak. 

The situation of the inhabitants in the entire valley of the Mis- 
sissippi was complicated with untried conditions. England still 
held the entire lake country, Spain held the west bank of the Mis- 
sissippi and the port of New Orleans, and was putting forth her 
utmost exertions to induce the people of Kentucky to cecede from 
the United States, and to this end closed the navigation of the 
Mississippi, refusing to make it free to the Western people, except 
on conditions that they would cut loose from the parent stem and 
Bet up a government under the protection of Spain. To bring 
about this she sent intriguing emissaries to Kentucky; nor did 
they fail to get some encouragement. " Under this double pres- 
sure, the settlers of the Northwest maintained an unshaken con- 
fidence in their ability to struggle through all the writhings of 
their crooked path. 

They labored incessantly at their daily toil, and were contented 
with the coarsest fare, Corn meal mixed with water, baked on a 
board turned up to the lire, was almost the only bread they had, and 
all they wanted. Their meat, besides what game they shot, waa 
pork, fattened on the nuts of the forest, which they called mast. 
Within the territory at this time were four American forts: Fort 
Knox, at Vincennes, garrisoned with 80 men ; Ft. Washington, at 
Cincinnati, with 75 men; Ft. Steuben, twenty-two miles above 
Wheeling, on the Ohio River, with 61 men; and Campus Martius, 
at Marietta, with 45 men. 

The latter place represented the blandishments of Boston, the 
classical learning of Yale, and the patriotism of Bunker HilL 
Here the first laws to govern the new territory were published; 
and here its first courts were established, and though Gen. St. 
Clair's headquarters were at Cincinnati, Marietta was by far the 
most congenial place for his family to reside in. Accordingly suit- 
able appartraents were fitted up for their accommodation in Cam- 
pus Martius. In Louisa, his oldest daughter, were united the 
Western heroine with the refinements of Philadelphia, where she 
was educated. In the winter of 1790, she was often seen skating 
on the Muskingum river, in which exercise few of the young 
officers could equal her in activity. During successive years she 
■ often rode through the adjacent forests on horseback, armed with 
her rifle, undaunted by the dangers of Indian ambuscades. Her 
skill in the use of this weapon was sometimes turned to a good 



St Clair Invades the Indian Country. 199 

, account in the wild ^ame with which she furnished Iier father's 
table, shot by the bullet under the fatal aim of her blue eye. 

Hildreth, tlie pioneer historian, in his rapturous praises of 

her surpassing beauty and grace, in his imagination substitutes 

. a bow and arrow for her rifle, and sees her ilying tlirougli the 

wooded heather, mounted on her high mettled steed, like i)iana, 

the daughter of Jupiter, and goddess of hunting. 

In this gifted lady was represented the type of American 
genius, the transcendent images of civilization, before which 
all bow with loyalty and devotion. Should this power supplant 
the barbarism of the forest, and make it teem with joy and 
beauty multiplied with years? or should the inherent rights of 
the Indians be respected, and the country which he owned be 
held sacred to the chase and occupied only by the tenants of the 
wigwam? This was the question before tlie American people, 
especially the pioneer who had crossed the Ohio, Avhich was then 
looked upon by the Indians as a partition line between the 
whites and themselves. 

On the 15th of May, 1T91, Gen. St. Clair arrived at Ft. Wash- 
ington, which was to be the rallying point for the troops destined 
to invade the Indian country. By a special act of Congress, 
3,000 men were to be raised for this service from N^ew Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia; but owing to the poverty 
of the country, as well as the long continued draft upon its 
sinews of war, the quota had not been filled. The rising State 
of Kentucky, however, came to the rescue, and sent 418 men to 
partially supply the deficiency. On the 17th of September the 
whole force was gathered at Ludlow's Station, five iniles north of 
Ft. "Washington, and the march began. 

The first day brouglit the army to the banks of the Big 
Miami where Fort Hamilton was built, Avhich is the site of the 
present beautiful town of Hamilton, twenty four miles north of 
Cincinnati, 

Continuing northwardly forty-two miles. Fort Jefferson wa8 
built on the 24th, six miles south of the present town of Green- 
ville, in Dark county. Delays in the arrival of provisions for 
the troops, caused murmuring among the militia, and three 
hundred of them deserted. On the 30th, the army made another 
advance of seven miles. 

On the 3d of I^ovember it had arrived at tlie head waters of 
the Wabash, where it encamped in order of battle, as the enemy 
were supposed to be near. 

The next day, before sunrise, just after the early morning 
. drill, an advance corps of the army were attacked and driven in 
, with great precipitancy upon the main body. Little Turtle, who 



200 Defeat of The Americans. 

commanded the Indians, with his natural penetration, made the 
. most 01 this success by following it up with such promptness 
that the disorder in St. Clair's army, occasioned by his dashing 
charge, was never full}'' recovered from, although the action soon 
became general, and several successful bayonet charges under 
■ Col. Darke, caused the Indians to reti-eat for a short time, but 
only to renew the battle fiercer than ever. 

At nine o'clock it became evident to St. Clair that the day was 
lost. One-third of his men laid dead or wounded on the ground, 
which they could no longer defend. The artillery was silent for 
the want of men to serve it. General Butler, the second in com- 
mand, laid mortally wounded, while his own clothes were pierced, 
with bullets; for he, with his accustomed courage, had. shared 
the dangers of the soldiers. Under these distressing circum- 
etances, he executed a skillful manouver in the face of the tri- 
umphant enemy, and secured a retreat with less loss than was 
feared might result from a headlong flight before a fleet-footed 
and victorious foe. His camp equipage and most of the wounded 
were left in the hands of the victors. His losses were 39 officers 
and 593 men killed, and 22 officers and 242 men wounded. 
Little Turtle reported his loss at 150 killed, and from his un- 
challenged record for integrity, his report may be taken as 
correct. 

The most rigid scrutiny failed to cast any blame on the con- 
duct of St. Clair in this disastrous battle, but attributed the 
defeat to the want of discipline in the raw recruits of which his 
army was composed, not forgetting, with all, to state that the 
Indians fought with exemjilary courage, directed by the master 
mind of Little Turtle. 

More than a century ago there was a school of naturalists, 
composed largely of French savants, who promulgated a theory 
based on scientific principles, as they averred that America did 
not produce the higher grades of animals; that even man would 
become dwarfed in body and mind in that unfriendly climate, 
unless fresh European blood was constantly infused into his veins 
by emigration and intermarriage. 

This theory must fall to the ground when the soil of America 
produces such men as Little Turtle, whose great mind, not trace- 
able to European origin, shone forth even more conspicuously in 
his statesman-like counsels after the battle than ever before, as 
will appear in the history of the next campaign. This theory, 
however, had already been put to the blush by Dr. Benjamin 
Franklin, when he was in Paris in 1783, as minister to settle 
terms of peace with England after the Revolution. On a certain 
day he invited a number of the literati of France to dine with 



Peace Cowiicil. 201 

him. Some casualty turning tlie subject on the natural history 
of America, one of the guests asked Franklin's opinion on the 
then acknowledged inferiority of animal growth there. The 
attention of the whole company was now arrested to listen to the 
profound words of the American philosopher, and when he arose 
from liis seat, and requested his American friends to do 'the same, 
the interest was redoubled. The six Americans present arose — 
all muscular, overgrown men, with a full measure of brains and 
thorough bass voices, " IS'ow let six Frenchmen arise," said the 
sage of the Kew World. Up started the required number of 
Parisians, whose slender frames and pale faces contrasted unfavor- 
ably with the Americans. This settled the point. 

When the terrible defeat of St. Clair is read, let it not be far- 
gotten that the soil of the Northwest nurtured into being the 
men to accomplish it in defense of their homes; and if this brave 

. and eloquent people had enjoyed the advantages of civilization, 
we could not have conquered them, nor should we have wished 
to. Even under all their disadvantages they made a valiant de- 
fense, and in the grandeur of their fall left f^ple proofs that 

• muscle and mind are indigenous to our soil. 

After this disastrous campaign emi^ation ceased, but the 
American forts were all held, including Fort Hamilton and Fort 

■ Jefferson, which had been biiilt by St. Clair on his way into the 
Indian country. From prudential as well as patriotic motives, 

. he now resigned his position as commander-in-chief of the army, 
and General Anthony Wayne was substituted in his place. Five 

. thousand men were to be raised for the expedition, which he was 

. to lead against Little Turtle. While these preparations were 
making for the new campaign, Benjamin Lincoln, Beverly Ran- 

.dolpli and Timothy Pickering, were appointed as commissioners 
in behalf of the United States, to meet the Indians in council 
near the mouth of Detroit river, not distant from the Indian 
camp at the rapids of the Maumee, and if possible negotiate a 
peace. Among the secret instructions which were given them 
by Washington, the President of the United States, they were 

.required to make the treaty of Fort Harmar the basis of a peace. 

■ By this treaty, the eastern and southern portions of the present 
State of Ohio had been ceded to the LTnited States, although the 
Indians disputed the validity of the treaty, on the ground that 

. tlie tribes most interested had taken no part in it. Other instruc- 
-tions. authorized tlie commissioners to make some concessions to 
tlio Indians, by giving up some lands already occupied out- 
ride of the limits estiiblished by the treaty of Fort Harmar. 
They were also authorized to give to the Indians fifty thousand 
iiiolla.rs worth of ffoods imniediatelv, and ten thousand dollars 



202 President Washington's Speech. 

worth annually forever. Twenty thousand dollars in coin was to 
be given to the head chiefs besides the above. The commission- 
ers arrived on the ground in July, 1793, by way of the lakes, 
courteously assisted by the English in their methods of travel at 
that time. While the council was in session. Gen. Wayne's 
army remained near Cincinnati, waiting its result, and the In- 
dians, on their part, faithfully preserved a peaceful attitude, 
according to a previous agreement on botli sides. The great 
point for which the Indians contended was that the Ohio river 
should forever be the boundary line between themselves and the 
wliites; and the arguments they used to sustain this claim, can 
be best understood by quoting extracts from their speeches, and 
the replies to them by the commissioners. 

Previous to the meeting of these commissioners with the In- 
dians, as proposed. Major Trueman and Col. Hardin left Fort 
Washington, with copies of a speech from President Washington 
to the hostile Indians, of which the following is an extract: 

Brotliers: The President of the United States entertains the 
opinion that the war which exists is founded in eri'or and mistake 
on your parts: that you believe the United States wants to de- 
prive you of your lands, and drive you out of the country. Be 
assured this is not so: on the contrarj^, that we should be greatly 
gratified with the opportunity of imparting to you all the bless- 
ings of civilized life, of teaching you to cultivate the earth, and 
raise corn; to raise oxen, sheep, and other domestic animals; to 
build comfortable houses, and to educate your children, so as ever 
to dwell upon the land. War, at all times, is a dreadful evil to 
those who are engaged therein, and more particularly so where a 
few people engaged to act against so great numbers as the people 
of the U nited States. Brothers : Do not sutler the advantages you 
have gained to mislead your judgment, and influence you to con- 
tinue the war: but reflect upon the destructive consequences 
which must attend such a measure. The President of the United 
States is liighl}'' desirous of seeing a number of your principle 
chiefs, and convincing you, in person, how much he wishes to 
avoid the evils of war for your sake, and the sake of humanity. 
Consult, therefore, upon the great object of peace; call in your 
parties, and enjoin a cessation of all further depredations; and 
as many of the principal chiefs as shall choose, repair to Phila- 
delphia, the seat of the general government, and there make a 
peace, founded on the principles of justice and humanity. Re- 
member that no additional lands will be required of you, or any 
other tribe, to those that have been ceded by former treaties, par- 
ticularly by the tribes who had a right to make the treaty of 
Muskingum, [Fort Ilarmar,] in the year 1789. But, if any .of 



The Indiana Demand the Ohio as a Boundary. 20^ 

your tribes can prove that you have a fair ri^ht to any lands 
compreliended by the said treaty, and have not been compensated 
therefor, you shall receive a full satisfaction upon that head. The 
chiefs you send shall be safely escorted to this city; and shall be 
well fed and j^rovided with all thint^s for their journey. * * 
Come, then, and be convinced for yourselves, of the beneficence 
of General Washington, the f^reat chief of the United States, and 
afterward return and spread the glad tidings of peace and pros- 
perity of tlie Indians to the setting sun." 

The council was opened on the 30th of July, by Simon Girty, 
interpreter, who presented, in behalf of the Indians, the following 
paper to the commissioners: 

" To the Commissioners of the United iStates. Bkotuers: 
The deputies we sent to you did not fully explain our meaning; 
we have therefore sent others, to meet you once more, that you 
may fully understand the great question we have to ask of you, 
and to which we expect an explicit answer in writing. Brothers: 
You are sent here by the United States, in order to make peace 
with us, the confederate Indians. Brothers: You know very 
well that the boundary line, wliich was run between the white 
people and us, at the treaty of Fort Stanwix, was the river Ohio. 
Brothers* If you seriously design to make a firm and lasting 
peace, you will immediately remove all your people from our 
Bide of that river. Brothers: We therefore ask you, are you fully 
authorized by the United States to continue, and firmly fix on the 
Ohio river as the boundary line between your people and ours? 
Done in general council at the foot of the Maumee Kapids, 27th 
July, 1793, in behalf of ourselves, and the whole confederacy,, 
and agreed to in a full council." 

To this opening of the case the commissioners replied: 

" Brothers: We do know very well, that at the treaty of Fort 
Stanwix, twenty-five years ago, the river Ohio was agreed on as 
the boundary line between you and the white people of the Brit- 
ish colonies; and we all know that, about seven years after that 
boundary was fixed, a quarrel broke out between your father, the 
King of Great Britain, and the people of those colonies, which 
are now the United States. This quarrel was ended by the treaty 
of peace, made with the King, about ten years ago, by which the 
Great lakes, and the waters which unite them were, by him^ 
declared to be the boundaries of the United States. 

"Brothers: Peace having been thus made between the King 
of Great Britain and the United States, it remained to make 
peace between them and the Indian nations who had taken part 
with the King; for this purpose, commissioners were appointed, 
who sent messages to all those Indian nations, inviting them ta 



204 Indian Terms Not Entertained, 

come and make peace. The first treaty was held about nine 
jears ago, at Fort Stanwix, with the Six Nations, which has stood 
firm and unviolated to this daj'. The next treaty was made about 
ninety days after, at Fort Mcintosh, with the half king of the 
Wyandots, Captain Pipe, and other chiefs, in behalf of the 
Wyandot, Delaware, Ottawa, and Chippewa nations. Afterward 
treaties were made with divers Indian Tiations south of the Ohio 
river; and the next treaty was made with Ka-kia-pilathy, here 
present, and other Shawnee chiefs, in behalf of the Shawnee 
nation, at the mouth of the Great Miami, which runs into the 
Ohio. 

"Brothers: The commissioners who conducted the treaties in 
behalf of the United States, sent the papers containing them to 
the great council of the States, who, supposing them satisfactory 
to the nations treated with, proceeded to dispose of large tracts 
of land thereby ceded, and a great number of people removed 
from other parts of the United States, and settled upon them; 
also many families of your ancient fathers, the French, came over 
the great waters, and settled upon a part of the same lands.* 

"Brothers: After some time, it appeared that a number of 
people in your nations were dissatisfied with the treaties of Fort 
Mcintosh and Miami; therefore the great council of the United 
States appointed Governor St. Clair their commissioner, with full 
powers, for the purpose of removing all causes of controversy, regu- 
lating trade, and settling boundaries, between the Indian nations 
in the northern department and the United States. He accordingly 
sent messages, inviting all the nations concerned to meet him at 
a council tire which he kindled at the falls of the Muskingum. 
While he was waiting for them, some mischief happened at that 
place, and the fire was put out; so he kindled a council fire at 
Fort Harmar, where near six hundred Indians, of different 
nations, attended. The Six Nations then renewed and confirmed 
the treaty of Fort Stanwix; and the Wyandots and Delawares 
renewed and confirmed the treaty of Fort Mcintosh: some Otta- 
was, Chippewas, Fottawattomies, and Sacs, were also parties to 
the treaty of Fort Harmar. 

" Brothers: All these treaties we have here with us. We have 
also the speeches of many chiefs who attended them, and who 
voluntarily declared their satisfaction with the terms of the 
treaties. 

"Brothers: After making all these treaties, and after hearing 
the chiefs express freely their satisfaction with them, the United 
States expected to enjoy peace, and quietly to hold the lands 
ceded by them. Accordingly, large tracts have been sold and set- 

* The French settlement at Gallipohs. 



Claims Under Old Treaties Pressed. 205 

tied, as before mentioned. And now, brothers, we answer explic- 
itly, tliat, for tlie reasons here stated to yon, it is hn'possihle to 
make the river Ohio the houndarij between your people and the. 
people of the United States. 

"Brothers: You are men of understanding, and if you con- 
sider the customs of white people, the great expenses which 
attend their settling in a new country, the nature of their improve- 
ments, in building houses and barns, and clearing and lencing 
their lands, how valuable the lands are thus rendered, and 
thence how dear they are to them, you will see that it is 
now impracticable to remove our people from the northern side 
of the Ohio. Your brothers, the English, know the nature of 
white people, and they know that, under the circumstances which 
we have mentioned, the United States can not make the Ohio the 
boundary between you and us. 

"Brothers: You seem to consider all the lands in dispute on 
your side of the Ohio, as claimed b}' the United States; but 
suffer us to remind you that a large tract was sold by the 
Wyandot and Delaware nations to the State of Pennsylva- 
nia. This tract lies east of a line drawn from the mouth 
of Beaver creek, at the Ohio, due north to lake Erie. This 
line is the western boundary of Pennsylvania, as claimed under 
the charter given by the king of England to your ancient friend, 
William Penn; of this sale, made by the Wyandot and Dela- 
ware nations to the State of Pennsylvania, we have never heard 
any complaint. 

"Brothers: The concessions which we think necessary on your 
part are, that you yield up, and finally relinquish to the United 
States, some of the lands on your side of the river Ohio. The 
United States wish to have confirmed all the lands ceded to them 
hythe treaty of Fort llarmar; and^ also, a snoall tract of land 
at the rapids of the Ohio, claimed hy General Clark, for the use 
of himself and warriors,' and, in consideration thereof, the 
United States would give such a large sum, in money or goods, 
as was never given at one time, for any quantity of Indian 
lands, since the lohite people first set their foot on this island. 
And, because those lands did, every year, furnish you with skins 
and furs, with which you bought clothing and other necessai-ies, 
tlie United States will now furnish the like constant supplies; 
and, therefore, besides the great sum to be delivered at once, 
they will, every year, deliver you a large (juantity of such goods 
as are best suited to the wants of yourselves, your women, and 
children." 

To these overtures of the commissioners the Indians replied: 

Brothers: It is now three years eiuce you desired to speak 



206 Tenacioiis Logic of the Indiana. 

■with us. "We heard you yesterday, and understood you well- 
perfectly well. We have a few words to say to you. Brothers: 
You mentioned the treaties of Fort Stanwix, Beaver Creek,* and 
other places. Those treaties were not complete. There were but 
a few chiefs who treated with you. You have not bought our 
lands. They belong to us. You tried to draw off some of us. 
Brothers: Many years ago, we all know that the Ohio was made 
the boundary. It was settled by Sir William Johnston. This 
side is ours. We look upon it as our property. Brothers: You 
mentioned General Washington. He and you know you have 
your houses and your people on our land. You say you can not 
move them off: and we can not give up our land. Brothers: We 
are sorry we can not come to an agreement. The line has been 
fixed lono; a^o. Brothers: We don't sav much. There has been 
much mischief on both sides. We came here upon peace, and 
thought you did the same. We shall talk to our head warrior.j. 
You may return whence you came, and tell Washington." 

" The council here breaking up, Captain Elliot went to the 
Shawnee chief Ka-kia-pilathy, and told him that the last part of 
the speech was wrong. That chief came back, and said it was 
wrong. Girty said that he had interpreted truly what the Wyan- 
dot chief spoke. An explanation took place; and Girty added 
as follows: 'Brothers: Instead of going home, we wish you to 
remain here for an answer from us. We have your speech in 
our breasts, and shall consult our head warriors.' The deputa- 
tion of Indians were then told that the commissioners would 
wait to hear again from the council at the Rapids of the Maumee." 

" On the 16th of August, 1793, Messrs. Lincoln, Randolph, 
and Pickering, received the following answer (in writing), to 
their speech of the 31st of July: 

''^ To the Commissioners of the United States. Brothers: We 
have received your speech, dated the 31st of last month, and 
it has been interpreted to all the different nations. We have 
been long in sending 3"ou an answer, because of the great impor- 
tance of the subject. But we now answer it fully; having given 
it all the consideration in our power. 

" Brothers: You tell us that, after you had made peace with the 
King, our father, about ten years ago, ' it remained to make peace 
between the United States and the Indian nations who had taken 
part with the King. For this purpose, commissioners were 
appointed, who sent messages to all those Indian nations, invit- 
ing them to come and make peace; ' and, after reciting the peri- 
ods at which you say treaties were lield, at Fort Stanwix, ^Fort 
Mcintosh and Miami, all which treaties, according to your own 

♦Foi-t Mcintosh. 



Defiisive Indian Logic. 207 

acknowledgment, were for the sole purpose of making peace, you 
then say: 'Brothers, the commissioners who conducted these 
treaties, in behalf of the United States, sent the papers contain- 
ing them to the general council of the States, who, supposing 
them satisfactory to the nations treated with, proceeded to dispose 
of the lands thereby ceded.' 

*' Brothers: " This is telling us plainly, what we always under- 
stood to be the case, and it agrees with the declarations of those 
few who attended those treaties, viz : That they loent to meet 
your commissioners to mahe peace; hut, through fear, were 
ohliged to sign any paper that was laid lefore them; and it has 
since appeared that deeds of cession were signed hy them, instead 
of treaties of peace. 

"Brothers: Money, tons, is of no value; and to most of us 
unknown: and, as no consideration whatever can induce us to 
sell the lands on which we get sustenance for our women and 
children, we hope we may he allowed to point out a mode hy 
which your settlers may he easily removed, and peace thereby 
obtained. 

Brothers: "We know that these settlers are poor, or they 
would never have ventured to live in a country which has been 
in continual trouble ever since they crossed the Ohio. Divide, 
therefore, this large sum of money, which you have offered to 
us, among these people. Give to each, also, a proportion of 
what you say you would give to us, annually, over and above 
this very large sum of money; and we are persuaded they would 
most readily accept of it, in lieu of the lands you sold them. 
If you add, also, the great sums you must expend in raising and 
paying armies, with a view to force us to yield you our country, 
you will certainly have more than sufficient for the purposes of 
repaying these settlers for all their labor and their improvements. 

"Brothers: You have talked to us about concessions. It 
appears strange that you should expect any from us, who have 
only been defending our just rights against your invasions. We 
want peace. Restore to us our country, and we shall be enemies 
no longer. 

" Brothers: Ynu rnake one concession to us by offering us your 
money; and another, by having agreed to do us justice after 
having long and injuriously withheld it. We mean, in the 
acknowledgment you have now made, that the king of England 
never did, nor ever had a right, to give you our country, by the 
treaty of peace. And you want to make this act of common 
justice a great part of your concessions; and seem to expect 
that, because you have at last acknowledged our independence,' 
we should, for such a favor, surrender to you our countrjr. 



208 The Ultimatum. 

"Brothers: You have talked also a great deal about preemp- 
tion, and your exclusive right to purchase Indian lands, as ceded 
to you by the king at the treaty ot peace. 

"Brotliers: We never made any agreement with the king, nor 
witli any other nation, that we would give to eitlier the exclusive 
right of purchasing our lands. And we declare to you, that we 
consider ourselves free to make any bargain or cession of lands 
wlienever and to whomsoever we please. If the white people, as 
you say, made a treaty that none ot" them but the king should 
pui-chase of us, and that he has given that right to the United 
States, it is an affair which concerns you and him, and not us. 
We liave never parted with such a power. 

" Jjrothers: At our general council held at the Glaize last fall, 
wo agreed to meet commissioners from the United States, for the 
purpose of restoring peace, provided they consented to acknoM'l- 
edge and confirm our boundary line to be the Ohio; and we 
determined not to meet 3'^ou until you gave us satisfaction on 
that point. That is the reason we have never met. We desire 
you to consider, brothers, that our only demand is the peaceable 
possession of a small part of our once great country. Look 
back, and review the lands from whence we have been driven to 
this spot. AVe can retreat no farther, because the country behind 
liardly affords food for its present inhabitants; and we have, there- 
fore, resolved to leave our bones in this small space to which we 
are now confined. 

" Brothers: We shall be persuaded that you mean to do us 
iustice, if you agree that the Ohio shall remain the boundary line 
between us. If you will not consent thereto, our meeting will be 
altogether unnecessary. This is the great point which we hoped 
would have been explained before you left your homes, as our 
message, last fall, was principally directed to obtain that inform- 
ation. 

" Done in general council, at the foot of the Maumee Kapids, 
tlie i:-3th day of August, 1793." 

It was now evident that the council would prove a fiiilure, as 
the terms of the Indians were inadmissible. The commissioners 
theretbre made the following declaration, and the session ad- 
journed without efiecting its purpose, each party departing, not 
without painful regrets, to renew a conflict desperate on the part 
of the Indi ui~, and doubtful on the part of the whites: 

" To the Chiefs and Warriors of the Indian Nations assein- 
lied ot the foot of the Manniee Rapids: Br 'thers: We have 
just received your answer, dated the 13th instant, to our speech 
of the 31st of last month, which we deliverd to your deputies at 
this place. You say it was interpreted to all your nations, and 



The Council Ends. 209 

we presume it was fully understood. We therein explicitly de- 
clared to you, that it was now impossible to make the river Ohio 
the boundary between your lands and the lands of the United 
States. Your answer amounts to a declaration that you w'ill 
agree to no other boundary than the Ohio. The negotiation is^ 
therefoi'e, at an end. We sincerely regret that peace is not the 
result; but, knowing the upright and liberal views of the United 
States — which, as far as you gave us an opportunity, we have 
explained to you — we trust that impartial judges will not attri- 
bute the continuance of the war to them. 

" Done at Captain Elliott's, at the mouth of Detroit river, the 
16th day of Auoust, 1793. 

BENJAMIN LINCOLN, ) Commissioners 
BEYERLEY RANDOLPH, V of the 

TIMOTHY PICKERING, ) United States." 

The council, which had been in session seventeen days, ending 
in failure, tlie commissioners made all haste to Ft. Erie in Penn- 
sylvania, which was then the outermost post of the Americans 
on the lakes. From there they sent the news of their unsuccess- 
ful mission to General Wayne, then waiting the issue at Ft. Wash- 
ington. In justice to the English, it should not be omitted that 
they extended exemplary courtesy to the American commission- 
ers in providing the means of transportation to and from the 
place where the council was held, at the mouth of the Maumee, 
as well as by other marks of respect from Governor Simcoe 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Genet, the Minister of the New French EeptibUc, Sent to the 
United States — Abuse of his Power Dangerous to America — 
He is Recalled at the Request of Jefferson — General Wayne 
marches against the Indians — Builds Fort Recovery — The 
Indians Attach the Place — Are Repulsed — Evidence of En- 
glish Complicity with the Indian Cause — General Wayne Ad- 
vances to the Saint Mary'^s River — Sends Peace Proposals to 
Little Turtle — He wishes to accept them, hut is Overruled in 
the Council — A Decisive Battle Ensues — General Wayne un- 
der the Guns of the English Fort — The English Commander 
Takes Offense — An angry Correspondence "Ensues — English 
View of the Case — Fort Wayne Built — Treaty of Greenville — 
Little TurtWs Honorahle Record — His death — Public Honors 
to his Memory — The Free Navigation of the Mississippi 
conceded hy Spain — The English give up the American 
Posts on theLakes — Cleveland Settled. 

A little before midnight, August 1st, 1793, two officers of the 
French Revolutionary government, entered the apartments of 
Marie Antoinette and aroused her from a disquiet sleep. From 
there she was conducted to a still closer confinement in a prison 
cell, eight feet long, furnished only with a bed of straw. On the 
16th of October she was executed, and her head severed from 
her body, was held up to the view of the thousands assembled 
there to see the blood of their queen (whose graces had charmed 
the courts of Europe,) dripping over the bare arms of her execu- 
tioner. These and other excesses of the Revolutionary govern- 
ment, caused an immediate declaration of war by England, 
Holland, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Prussia, Sardinia, Peidmont, 
the Two Sicilies and the Roman States, against France. On the 
8tli of April, 1793, Genet, the Minister of the new French 
Kepublic, which had accomplished these political tragedies, 
arrived in the United States. He was received with enthusiasm 
as a fitting memorial of gratitude for the timely services of 
France, so recently rendered to the United States in its struggle 



Frencli Minuter Recalled. 211 

for liberty, for the people, in their blind zeal in the cause of Re- 
publicanism, did not stop to call in question the means by which 
it was obtained. It was confidently expected by Genet, that the 
United States would make common cause with France, in her 
headlong career of revolution, which at one time threatened to 
gAveep through Europe, and the tempting prize which he held 
forth to the American people, to secure their co-operation, was 
well calculated to make them set their feet into the treacherous 
snare, and would have succeeded but for the discernment of the 
Fathers of our Republic, particularly Washington, Adams and 
Jay. Entering with masterly zeal upon liis labors, with ar* 
overstrain perhaps not inconsistent with the genius of his 
government, Genet abused his prerogatives by fitting out 
French vessels on American waters, by establishing recruiting 
quarters in South Carolina, to raise troops for the invasion of the 
Spanish possessions of Florida, and also recruiting quarters in 
Kentucky to raise troops for the invasion of Spanish territ0)'y 
west of the Mississippi, with a view to open that stream for the 
free navigation of Western Commerce. The hitter was a very 
popular measure among the Kentuckians, and it required the 
utmost exertions of the American cabinet to circumvent the 
designs of Genet, which if allowed to go on, would have involved 
lis in a war with Spain, It is equally certain also, that England 
would have declared war against us if Genet had succeeded in his 
designs of invading Spanish teri-itory with American troops, ibr 
Spain was then the active ally of England against France, in which 
case the English forces in Canada would have niade common 
cause with Little Turtle, who with the Spanish soldiers from JSTew 
Orleans added to them, could have driven every American settler 
out of the country w^est of the Ohio. To guard against these 
calamities, Washington determined to issue a proclamation, warn- 
ing the Western people against enlisting in the service against 
the SpaTiiards, and Jefferson. Secretary of State, wrote a letter to 
Gouverneur Morris, our Minister to France, requesting the 
removal of Genet. This prompt action w^as taken while Genet 
was very popular among the masses in America, having secured 
their favour by promising not only to open the free navigation 
of the Mississi])pi, but also pro])Osing to pay off the American 
debt by purchasing ])rovisions for the French soldiers wiiilc they 
were engaged in dethronjng the monnrchs of Europe. But ere all 
this was accomplished he was re-called from his post, and Mr. 
Fauchet substituted in his place. The new minister soon made 
amends for the high-handed manner by which his predecessor iiad 
assumed responsibilities too grave even for the Father of hia 
country. That the timely removal of Genet saved America from 
a war with England and Spain is evident, irom the fact that dur 



212 Gen. Wayne Marches Against the Indians. 

ing the height of liis career in the West, Go\ernor Siiiicoe, of 
Canada, was ordered by the English Parliament to bnild a fort at 
the Manmee Rapids, abont twenty miles above the niontli of that 
stream, in the ]\eart of the .Indian country, and far within the 
limits of American territory, as settled by the treaty of- 1783, a 
measure doubtless taken under conviction that war with the 
United States would soon be declared. A special messenger from 
the S]>anish provinces visited the hostile tribes at the same time, 
offering them assistance. 

While this indecision marked the councils of the English and 
Spanish, a respectable force had gathered at Fort AVasliington, 
and were encamped below on the banks of the Ohio river. Con- 
gress had passed an act to raise 5,000 men for the expedition, but 
owing to reluctance in enlisting, sickness and desertion, Wayne's 
arni}^ numbered no more than 3,600 men. Meantime it was all 
important that the offensive should be taken as soon as it was 
known that the late negotiations for peace had resulted in 
failure. Accordingly Wayne took up his march by the way of 
Forts Hamilton and Jefferson, and reached the vicinity of the 
upper tributaries of the Wabash and also the Big Miami on the 
24th of December, 1793. Here he built Fort Greenville, which 
he made his winter quarters. 

Soon after his arrival here, he sent a strong detachment to the 
battle ground of the unfortunate St. Clair, which was but a short 
distance from Fort Greenville, where he built Fort Recovery. 
Here the bones of the slain which had been mouldering in the 
forest shades for two years, were gathered together and buried. 

The winter was spent in the necessary work of drilling and 
disciplining the troops, no enemy making their appearance till 
the 30th of June, 1704, when a heavy force of Indians, assisted by 
50 Canadian British subjects, made a furious attack on Fort Re- 
covery. Tlie action was very obstinate and resulted in severe 
losses on both sides, but the fort was not taken, and the Indians 
fell back to the main bod v. 

Just before this action, two Potto wattomies had been taken 
prisoners by Captain Gibson, and in reply to questions as to ex- 
pectations of assistance, answered as follows: 

Q. When did your nation receive the invitation from the 
British to join them, and go to war with the Americans? 

A. On the first of the last moon; the message was sent by 
three chiefs — a DelaM'are, a Shawanee, and a Miami. 

Q. What was the message brought by those Indian chiefs, 
and what number of British troops were at Roche de Bout (foot 
of rapids of tlie Maumee) on the first day of May? 

A. That the British sent them to invite the Pottawatomies to 
go to war against the United States: that thev, the British, were 



Indian Testiinony. 213 

tlien at RocTie de Bout, on tJieir way to war against the Ameri- 
cans; tliat the number of British troops then there were about 
four liundrecl, witli two pieces of artillery, exclusive of the De- 
troit militia, and had made a fortification round Col. McKee's 
lionse and stores at that place, in which they had deposited all 
their stores of ammunition, arms, clothing and provision, with 
which they ])romised to supply all the hostile Indians in abun- 
dance, provided they would join and go with them to war. 

Q. What tribes of Indians, and what were their numbers, at 
at Eoche de Bout on the first of May'C 

A. The Chippewa'*, Wyandots, Shawanese, Tawas, Delaware^ 
4ind Miamis. There were then collected about one thousand war- 
riors, and were daily coming in and collecting from all those na- 
tions. 

Q. What numT)er of warriors do you suppose actually col- 
lected at that place at this time, and what number of British 
troops and militia have promised to join the Indians to fight this 
army? 

A. By the latest and best information, and from our own 
Inowledo-e of the number of warriors belon<j:in£: to those nations, 
there cannot be less than two thousand Avarriors now assembled ; 
.and were the Pottawattomies to join, agreeably to invitation, the 
whole would amount to upwards of three thousand hostile Indians. 
But we do not think that more than fifty of the Pottawatomies 
will go to war. 

The British troops and militia that will join the Indians to go 
to war against the Americans, will amount to fifteen hundred, 
agreeably to the promise of Gov, Simcoe. 

Q. At what time and at what place do the British and Indians 
mean to advance ao-ainst this armv? 

A. About the last of this moon, or the beginning of the next, 
they intend to attack the legion of this place. Gov. Simcoe, the 
^reat man who lives at or near Niagara, sent for the Pottawat- 
omies, and promised them arms, ammunition, provisions and 
clothing, and everything they wanted, on condition that they 
would join him, and go to war against the Americans, and that 
he would command the whole. He sent us the same message 
last winter, and again on the first of the last moon, from Boche 
deBout; he also said he was much obliged to us for our past ser- 
vices, and that he would now help us to tight and render us all 
the services in his power against the Americans. All the speeches 
that we have received from him, were as red as blood; all tlie 
wampum and feathers were painted red; the war pipes and hatch- 
ets were red, and even the tobacco was painted red. We received 
four different invitations from Gov. Simcoe, inviting the Pot- 
"^.".•vatoinics to join in the war; the last was on the first of last 



214: Wayno^s Victory. 

moon, when he promised to join ns with 1,500 of his warriors, as- 
before mentioned. But we wished for peace, except a lew of our 
foolish .young men. 

Examined and carefully reduced to writing, at Greenville, this 
7th of June, 1794.* 

On the 28th of July following. General Wayne commenced a. 
forward movement, reaching the St. Mary's river on the 1st of 
August. On the 8th he arrived at the south hranch of the Mau- 
mee, and continuing his course down its banks, he came to tlie 
vicinity of the Kapids on tlie 20th, where the Britisli fort was 
visible, around which the Indian army under Little Turtle were 
hovering:, not without hones of assistance. His entire armv were 
concealed among the prostrated trees of the forest, which a tor- 
nado liad leveled to the ground a few years before, where this dis- 
tinguished chief was debating in his own mind what was the 
best course to pursue. * * Gen. Wayne had just sent peace 
proposals to Little Turtle. 

"We have beaten the enemy twice under separate command- 
ers, and we cannot expect the same good fortune always to attend 
us," said the cautious veteran to his chiefs. Continuing, he says: 
"The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps; th& 
night and day arealike to him; and during all the time that he 
has been marching upon our villages, notwithstanding the watch- 
fulness of our young men, we have never been able to surprise 
him: Think well of it. There is something whispers me it 
would be prudent to listen to his offers of peace." 

This wise counsel was disregarded by the other chiefs, and Lit- 
tle Turtle was forced to battle, lest he might rest under the im- 
putation of cowardice. 

On the 20th of August, General Wayne came upon the army 
of Little Turtle, who were concealed among the fallen trees a few 
miles from the British fort. The Indians were routed, although 
they fought with masterly courage; but they could not stand 
against the furious bayonet charge made against them by Wayne's- 
soldiers. In their tlight they pressed towards the British fort, 
hoping, doubtless, to tind protection within its walls, but the' 
gates were shut in the faces of the wretched fugitives, and they 
fled thence to the covert of the forest. 

After the battle. Gen. Wayne destroyed their fields of corn on 
the Maumee. Says lie, in his report: 

"The very extensive and highly cultivated fields and gardens 
show the work of many hands. The margin of these beautiful 
rivers. The Miamis of the lake (or Maumee) and Au Glaize 
appear like a continued village for a number of miles, both above 

•American State Papors, V. 489. 



English View of the Situation. 215 

and below this place. Nor have I ever before beheld such 
immense fields of corn in any part of America from Canada to 
Florida." 

After the battle, Col. Campbell, the commander of the British 
fort, addressed General Wayne a note, protesting against the 
near approacli of the Americans, who were tlien within the 
reach of his guns. A spicv correspondence ensued, more noted 
for keen repartee than courtesy, but happily no act of hostility 
took place. 

To show the spirit which the English evinced in building the fort, 
and the light in which they viewed the position of its commander, 
the following is inserted from that able representative of British 
policy, Isaac Weld, whose notes were made during liis travels in 
America the next year, while the excitements were at their 
height; 

"The Miami Fort, situated on the river of the same name, was 
built by the English, in the year 1793, at which time there was 
some reason to imagine that the disputes existing between Great 
Britain and the United States would not have been quite so ami- 
cably settled, perhaps, as they have been; at least that doubtless 
must have been the opinion of government, otherwise they would 
not have given orders for the construction of a fort within the 
boundary line of the United States, a circumstance which could 
not fail to excite the indignation of the people thereof. General 
Wayne, it would appear, had received no positive orders from his 
government to make himself master of it; could he have gained 
possession of it, however, by a coup-de-main, without incurring 
any loss, he thought that it could not but have been deemed an 
acceptal)le piece of service by the public, from whom he should 
have received unbounded applause. \ Yanity was his ruling pas- 
sion, and actuated by it on this occasion, he resolved to try what 
he could do to obtain possession of the fort.- Colonel Campbell, 
however, by his spirited and manly answer to the summons that 
was sent, to surrenaer the fort on account of its being situated 
within the boundary line of the States, soon convinced the Amer- 
ican general that he M'as not to be shaken by his remonstrances 
or intimidated by his menaces, and that his two hundred men, 
who composed the garrison, had sufficient resolution to resist the. 
attacks of his army of three thousand, whenever he thought 
proper to march against the fort. The main division of die 
American army, at this time, lay at the distance of about four 
miles from the fort; a small detachment from it, ho-wever, was 
concealed in the woods at a very little distance from the fort, to 
be ready at the call of General Wayne, who, strange to tell, when 
he found he was not likely to get possession of it'in consequence 
of the summons he sent, was so imprudent, and depai'ted so mncU 



216 The Indians Resolve on Peace, 

from the dignity of the general and the character of the soldier, 
as to ride up to the fort, and to use the most gross and illiberal 
language to the British soldiers on duty in it. His object in do- 
ing so was, I should suppose, to provoke the garrison to iire upon 
him, in which case he would have had a pretext for storming the 
fort. 

" Owing to the great prudence, however, of Colonel Campbell, 
who issued the strictest orders to liis men and officers to remain 
silent, notwithstanding any insults that were offered to them, and 
not to attempt to tire, unless indeed an actual attack were made 
on the place, Wayne's plan was frustrated, much bloodshed cer- 
tainly saved, and a second war between Great Britain and Amer- 
ica perhaps averted. 

"General Wayne gained no great personal honour by his con- 
duct on this occasion; but the circumstance of his having ap- 
peared before the British fort in the manner he did, operated 
strongly in his favour in respect to his proceedings against the 
Indians. These people had been taught to believe, bj^ the young 
Canadians that were amongst them, that if any part of the Amer- 
ican army appeared before the fort it would certainly be fired 
upon ; for they had no idea that the Americans would have come 
in sight of it without taking ofiensive measures, in which case 
resistance would certainly have been made. When, therefore, it 
was heard that General Wayne had not been fired upon, the In- 
dians complained grievously of their having been deceived, and 
were greatly disheartened on finding that they were to receive no 
assistance from the British. Their native courage, however, did 
not altogether forsake them; they resolved speedily to make a 
stand, and accordingly having chosen their ground, awaited the 
arrival of General Wayne, who followed them closely." 

The Indians now defeated and left without hope from their 
British friends were at the mercy of the Americans, and the 
alternative was jDeaee or starvation, and indeed the latter seemed 
imminent, even with peace, since the destruction of their 
crops. But even under the fatal duress of defeat and the havoc 
of war, the time-honored custom of deliberate councils was not 
departed from, for hasty diplomacy is not one of the weaknesses 
of the Indiim, and before they could holdajjeace council with the 
Americans, they held a council among themselves at the mouth 

In justification of General Wayne's reputation, it maybe proper to state that, 
under ordinary circumstances h s conduct before the British fort might have 
been an excess of mi.itary authority, and have justly merited Mr. Welds' cen- 
sure; but the Engli>h, by building the fort on American soil, had subjected 
themselves to the sport of fortune, by making it necessary for the Americans to 
transcend the ordinary rules of national etiquette, in order to make the mosb 
of their victory over the Indians. — Autlxor. 



Jay's Mission as Minister to England. 217 

of the Detroit river, and durino^ tlieir deliberations here, Gov. . 
Simcoe and other English agents endeavored to dissuade the In- 
dians from making peace with the Americans. Their efforts in 
this direction, however, were in vain, unaccompanied as they were 
hy any positive promise of alliance. 

Happily for America, AVashington had taken timely steps to 
avert war!i having on the 16th of April sent the following mes- 
sage to the Senate: 

"The communications whieh I have made to you during your 
present session, from the dispatclies of our minister in London, 
contain a serious aspect of our affairs with Great Britain, But, 
as ])eace ought to be pursued with unremitted zeal, before the last 
resource, which has so often fteen the scourge of nations, and can- 
not fail to check the advanced prosperity of the United States, I 
have thought proper to nominate, and do hereby nominate, John 
Jay, envoy extraordinary of the United States to his Britannic 
Majesty. 

" My confidence in our minister plenipotentiary in London con- 
tinues undiminished. But a mission like this, while it corres- 
sponds with the solemnity of the occasion, will announce to the 
world a solicitude for the friendly adjustment of our complaints, 
and a reluctance to hostility. Going immediately from the Uni- 
ted States, such an envoy will carry with him a full knowledge 
of the existing temper and sensibility of our country; and will 
thus be taught to vindicate our rights with firmness, and to cul- 
tivate peace with sincerity." 

The definitive treaty of peace between England and the United 
States in 1873, had left many important points of national com- 
ity unprovided for, as to those rights which may be called com- 
mon in the family of nations. Our inde])endence had been 
acknowledged, but any influence we might exert abroad made not 
even a ripple in the great sea of European diplomacy, which then 
in the plenitude of its grasp from two rival powers (England and 
France), aimed each to subject the whole world to its influence. 

Under these circumstances, any diplomatic favors from Eng- 
land must necessarily result more from the statesmanship of our 
minister, than from any power behind him, and Washington saw 
and made provision for this contingency when he appointed our 
envoy to England. 

Mr. Jay arrived in London in June, and, says Lyman, the Dip- 
lomatic histori-an, "There can be no question but a war would 
have taken place if he had not succeeded in making a treaty." 
The instrument M-as not signed till the following November, but 
his }>resence at the Court of Saint James, even before the treaty 
w-as signed, had inspired that body with due rc'pect for the gov- 
ernment which he so ably represented, and prevented any hasty 



218 Fort Wayne Built. 

declaration of war. The treaty was a very lengthy documont^ 
and only the second article will be quoted, as it only had a direct 
influence on the Northwest: 

" Akt. 2. Great Britain to withdraw her troops from certain 
posts within the boundary line of the United States, on or before 
the 1st of June, 1706, &c. Settlers and traders residing in the 
precincts of the posts to be surrendered, to enjoy their property 
unmolested, &c. Tiiese settlers not to be compelled to become 
citizens of the United States, or to take the oath of allegiance, 
&c." * 

General Wayne remained near the battle ground till the 14th 
of the succeeding month, September, wlien he took up his march 
westvvardly to a deserted Miami vilhige, at the confluence of the 
St. Joseph and Saint Mary's rivers. He reached thephiceon the 
I7th, and set liis men at work building a fort. It wastinishedon 
the 22nd and named Ft. Wayne, in honor of the commanding 
general. The christening was solemnized by the flring of fifteen 
rounds of artillery by Col. Hamtramck. This was the nucleus 
around which the city of Ft. Wayne grew into its present pro- 
portions. 

The place had been noted as a portage from the head waters 
of the Wabash to the Miami river, ever since the founding of 
Yincennes, and without doubt as long before that ]>eriod as th& 
time when the country first became inhabited by the Indians, 
during whose occupation of the county, tlie spot laid in the track 
of their communication between the Wabash Valley and Lake 
Erie. Here General Wayne remained the succeeding winter, 
and was visited by delegations from the Wyandots, Ottawas^ 
Chippewas, Pottawattamies, Sacs, Miamis, Delawares and Shaw- 
anese, all anxious for peace. Arrangements were now made fot 
the mos!: important Indian treaty ever held in the west, to b& 
convened at Fort Greenville the following June, 1795. 

After the usual preliminaries Avhich always go before the 
business of an Indian council, Little Turtle made the following 
able speech: 

" I wish to ask of you and my brothers present, one question. 
I would be glad to know what lands have been ceded to you, aw 
I am uninformed in this ])articular. I expect that the lands on the 
Wabash, and in this country, belong to me and my people. I 
now take the opportunity to inform my brothers of the United 
States, and others present:, that there are men of Sense and under- 
standing among my people, as well as among theirs, and that 

* Note. — The reason which Ihe British gfave for holdinir the posts, was to 
secure the payment ot priviite debts coniracteJ before the rovohition. due her 
Bubjects from private individuals in America, alleg-ing-, and perhaps with trutli, 
that legal obstructions had bien thrown in the way of their collection. If this 
■was so, such obstructions were removed, as provided in Article 7 in the treaty. 



Little Turtle's Speech in the Peace Council. 219 

these lands were disposed of without our knowledge or consent. 
I was, yesterday, surprised, when I heard from our grandfathers, 
the Delawares, that these lands had been ceded by tlie British to 
the Americans, when the former were beaten by, and made peace 
with, tlie latter; because you had before told us that it was the 
Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, Cliippewas, Pottawattamies, and 
Sanckeys, [Sacs,] who had made this cession* 

" I hope you will pay attention to what I now say to you. I 
wish to inform you where your 3'ounger brothers, the Miamis, 
live, and, ^.Iso, the Pottawattamies of Bt. Joseph's, together with 
the Wabash Indians. You have pointed out to us the boundary 
line between the Indians and the United States, but now I take 
the liberty to inform you that that line cuts off from the Indians 
a large portion of country which has been enjoyed by my fore- 
fathers, time immemoral without molestation or dispute. The 
print of my ancestors' houses are every where to be seen in this 
portion.' I was a little astonished at hearing you, and my broth- 
ers who are now present, telling each other what business you had 
transacted together heretofore at Muskingum, concerning this 
conntry. It is well known by all my brothers present, that ray 
forefather kindled the first fire at Detroit; from thence he ex- 
tended his lines to the headwaters of Scioto; from thence to its 
mouth ; from thence, down the Ohio, to the mouth of the Wabash; 
and from thence to Chicago, on lake Michigan ; at this place, I 
first saw my elder brothers, the Shawanees. I have now informed 
you of the boundaries of the Miami nation, where the Great 
Spirit j3laced my forefather a long time ago, and charged him not 
to sell or part with his lands, but to preserve them for his poster- 
ity. This charge has been handed down to me. I was much 
surprised to find tiiat my other bi-others difiered so much from 
me on this subject: for their conduct would lead one to suppose,, 
that the Great Spirit, and their forefathers, had not given them 
the same charge that was given to me, but, on the contrary, had 
directed them to sell their lands to any white man who wore a 
hat, as soon as he should ask it of them. ]Sow, elder brother, 
your younger brothers, the Miamis, have pointed out to you their 
country, and also to our brothers present. When I hear your 
remarks and proposals on this subject, I will be ready to give 
you an answer. I came with an expectation of hearing you say 
good things, but I have not yet heard what I expected."* 
To this speech General Wayne himself replied, as follows: 
"Brothers, the Miamis: I have paid attention to what the Lit- 
tle Turtle said two. days since, concerning tJie lands which he 
claims. He said his fathers first kindled the fire at Detroit, and 

*Minntes and pi-ocedings of the Treaty of Greenville. 



220 General Wayne's Rejply. 

stretclied his line from thence to the headwaters of Scioto; thence, 
down the same, to the Ohio; thence, down that river, to the 
mouth of the Wabash; and from thence to Chicago, on the south- 
west end of lake Micliigan, and observed that his forefathers had 
enjoyed that country undisturbed from time immemorial-. Broth- 
ers: These boundaries inclose a very large space of country, 
indeed: they embrace, if I mistake not, all the lands on which all 
the nations now present live, as well as those which have been 
ceded to the United States, The lands wliich have been ceded, 
have, within these three days, been acknowledged by the Ottawas, 
Chippewas, Pottawattamies, Wyandots, Delawares, and Shaw- 
anees. The Little Turtle says, the prints of his forefathers' houses 
are everywhere to be seen within these boundaries. Younger 
brother, it is true, these prints are to be observed; but, at the 
same time, we discover the marks of French possessions through- 
out this country, which were established long before Ave were 
born. These have since been in the occupancy of the British, 
"who must, in their turn, relinquish them to the United States, 
when they, the French and Indians, will be all as one people. 
{A white string.] 

" I will point out to you a few places where I discover strong 
traces of these establishments; and, first of all, I find at Detroit 
a very strong print, where the fire was first kindled by your fore- 
fathers: next, at Vincennes, on the AYabash; again at Musquiton, 
on the same river; a little higher up that stream, they are to be 
seen at Ouiatanon. I discover another strong trace at Chicago; 
another on the St. Joseph's of lake Michigan, I have seen dis- 
tinctly the prints of a French and a British post at the Miami 
villages, and of a British post at the foot of the rapids, now in 
their possession; prints, very conspicuous, are on the Great 
Miami, which were possessed by the French forty-five years ago; 
and another trace is very distinctly to be seen at Sandusky. It 
appears to me, that, if tlie Great Spirit, as you say, charged your 
forefathers to preserve their lands entire for their posterity, they 
have paid very little regard to the sacred injunction : for I see 
t\\Qj hav^e parted with those lands to your fathers, the French, and 
the English are now, or have been, in possession of them all; 
therefore, I think the charge urged against the Ottawas, Chippe- 
was, and the other Indians, comes with a bad grace, indeed, from 
the very i-)eople who perhaps set them tlie example. The Eng- 
lish and Fi-ench both wore hats; and yet your forefathers sold 
them, at various times, portions of your lands. However, as I 
have already observed, you shall now receive from the United 
States further valuable compensation for the lands you have ceded 
to them by former treaties. 

"Younger brothers: I will now inform you who it was who 



Terms of Peace. 221 

gave us these lands, in tlie first instance. It was your fatliers, 
the British, wlio did not discover that care for your interest which 
you ouo;ht to have experienced. This is the treaty of peace, 
made letween the United States of America and Great Britain, 
twelve years ago, at the end of a long and bloody war, when the 
French and Americans proved too powerful for the British. On 
these terms they obtained peace. [Here part of the treaty of 
1783 was read.] Here you perceive that all the country south of 
the great lakes has been given up to America; but the United 
States never intended to take that advantage of you which the 
British placed in their hands; they wish you to enjoy your just 
rights, without interruption, and to promote your happiness. The 
British stipulated to surrender to us all the posts on their side of 
the boundary agreed on. I told you, some days ago, that treaties 
should ever be sacredly fulfilled by those who make them; but 
the British, on their part, did not find it convenient to relinquish 
those posts as soon as they should have done; however, they now 
find it so, and a precise period is accordingly fixed for their deliv- 
ery. I have now in my hand the copy of a treaty, made eight 
months since, between them and us, of which 1 will read you a 
little. [First and second articles of Mr. Jay's treaty read.] By 
this solemn agreement, they promise to retire from Michilimaci- 
nac, Fort St. Clair, Detroit, Niagara, and all other places on this 
side of the lakes, in ten moons from this period, and leave the 
same to full and quiet possession of the United States. 

After much deliberation the treaty M^as concluded on the fol- 
lowing basis as to giving up Indianlands: 

Art. 3. The general boundary line between the land of the 
United States, and the lands of the said Indian tribes, shall begin 
at the mouth of Cuyahoga river, and run thence up the same to 
the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Mus- 
kingum ; thence down that branch to the crossing place above 
Fort Lawrence; thence westwardly, to a fork of that branch 
of the Great Miami river running into the Ohio, at or near 
which foi'k stood Laramie's store, and where commences the 
portage between the Miami of the Ohio and St. Mary's river, 
which is a branch of the Miami which runs into Lake Erie; 
thence a westerly course to Fort Recovery, which stands 
on a branch of the Wabash; thence southwesterly, in a direct 
line to the Ohio, so as. to intersect that river opposite the mouth 
of Kentucky or Outtawa river. The said Indian tribes do also 
cede to tlie United States the following pieces of land, to wit: 

1. One piece of land six miles square, at or near Laramie's 
store, before mentioned. 2. One piece, two miles square, at 
the head of the navigable water or landing, on the St. Mary's 
river, near Girty's town. 3. One piece, six miles square, at the 



222 Terms of Peace. 

head of the navigable waters of the Auglaize river. 4. One 

Siece, six miles square, at the confluence of the Auglaize and 
[iami river, where Fort Defiance now stands. 5. One piece, 
six miles square, at or near the confluence of the rivers St. Mary 
and St. Joseph, where Fort Wayne now stands, or near it. 6. 
One piece, two miles square, on the Wabash river, at the end of 
the portage from the Miami of the lake, and about eight miles 
westward from Fort Wayne. 7. One piece, six miles square, 
at the Onatanon, or Old Weatowns, on the Wabash river. 8. 
One piece, twelve miles square, at the British Fort, on the 
Miami of the lake, at the foot of the rapids. 9. One piece^ 
six miles square, at the mouth of the said river, where it 
empties into the lake. 10. One piece, six miles square, 
upon Sandusky lake where a fort formerly stood. 11. One 
piece two miles square, at the lower rapids of Sandus- 
ky river. 12. Tlie post of Detroit, and all the lands 
to the north, the west, and the south of it, of which the 
Indian title has been extinguished by gifts or grants to the 
French or English governments; and so much more land to be 
annexed to the District of Detroit as shall be comprehende(i be- 
tween the Eaisin on the south and Lake St. Clair on the north, 
and a line, the general course whereof shall be six miles distant 
from the west end of lake Ei-ie and Detroit river. 13. The post 
of Michilimackinac, and all the land adjacent of which the In- 
dian title has been extinguished by gifts or grants to tlie French 
or English governments; and a piece of land on the Main to the 
north of the Island, to measure six miles on lake Huron, or the 
straits between lakes Huron and Michigan, and to extend three 
miles back from the water on the lake or strait; and also the 
Island de Bois Blanc, being an extra and voluntary gift of the 
Chippewa nation. 14. One piece of land, six miles square, at 
the month of Chicago river, emptying into the southwest end of 
lake Michigan, where a fort formerly stood. 15. One piece, 
twelve miles square, at or near the mouth of the Illinois river, 
emptying into the Mississippi. 16. One piece, six miles square, 
at the old Peorias, fort and village, ne.ir the south end of the 
Illinois lake on said Illinois river. And for the same considera- 
tions, and with the same views as above mentioned, the United 
States now deliver to the said Indian tribes a quantity of goods 
to the value of twenty thousand dollars, the receipt whereof they 
do hereby acknowledge; and henceforward every year forever, tlie 
United States will deliver, at some convenient place northward of 
the river Ohio, like useful goods, suited to the circumstances of the 
Indians of the value of nine thousand five hundred dollars, reck- 
oning that value at the first cost of the goods in the city or place 
in the United States where they shall be procured. 



Little-Turtle Visits Philadelphia. 223 

. The treaty was signed, Aug. 3d, 1795, and hushed the wilder- 
ness, to peace, till the great events in which the Continental wars 
of Europe had developed issues which were felt even on the fron- 
tiers of America, and had much to do in again entangling the 
Indians in an issue between themselves and the Americans, as 
will be told in future chapters. 

: After the treaty, Little Turtle did all in his power to induce 
his people to adopt the modes of the white man, and with this 
«nd in view, visited Philadelphia to solicit Congress and the 
benevolent Society of Friends to assist him in this laudable 
undertaking. Here he had an introduction to the celebrated 
French travellers, Volney and Koskiuosko, which is described as 
follows by Drake: 

" At the time of Mr. Volney^s interview with him for infor- 
mation, he took no notice of the conversation while the inter- 
preter was communicating with Mr. Volney ^ for he did not 
understand English, but walked about, plucking out his beard 
and eye-brows. He was dressed now in English clothes. His 
skin, where not exposed, Mr. Volney says, w-as as white as his; 
and on speaking upon the subject, Little-turtle said, " I have 
seen Spaniards in Louisiana, and found no difference of color 
between them and me. And why should there be any? In 
them, as in us, it is the work of the Father of colors^ the Stin^ 
that burns us. You white people compare the color of your 
face with that ©f your bodies." Mr. Volney explained to him 
the notion of many, that his race was descended from the Tar- 
tars, and by a map showed him the supposed communication 
between Asia and America. To this Little-turtle replied, "TFAy 
should not these Tartars, who reseinhle us, have come from 
America^ Are there any reasons to the contrary? Or why 
should we not both have been born in our own country? " It is 
a fact that the Indians give themselves a name which is cf[uiva- 
lent to our word, indigene, that is, one sprung from the soil, or 
natural to it.'" 

"When Mr. Volney ?iQ\edi Little-turtle whoX prevented him 
from living among the whites, and if he were not more comfort- 
able in Philadelphia than upon the banks of the Wabash, he said, 
" Taking all tilings together, you have the advantage over 
^lSf' hut here 1 am deaf and dumh. I do not talk your lan- 
guage,' 1 can neither . hear, nor maJce myself heard. When 
L walk through the streets, I see every person in his shop 
employed about something : one makes snoes, another hats, a 
third i^ells cloth, and every one lives by his labor. L say to 
inyself Which of these things can you dof Not one. I can 
make a bow or an arrow, catch fish, kill game, and go to 

*See Volney 's Travels, xit supra. 



224 The English Evacuate the Western Ports. 

war: hut none of these is of any use here. To learn what is 
done here would require a long time?'' " Old age comes on.'''' 
" 1 should he a piece of furniture useless to my nation, useless 
to the whites, a?id useless to myself^ " / must return to my 
own country!' " 

"At the same time (1797), among other eminent personages to 
whom this chief became attached in Phihidelphia, was tlie re- 
uouned KosMusl'o. This old Polish chief was so well pleased 
with Little-turtle, that when the latter went to take his final 
leave of him, tlie old ' war-worn soldier ' and patriot presented 
him with a beautiful pair of pistols, and an elegant robe made of 
sea-otter's skin, of the value of ' several ' hundred dollars.* 

After this successful issue of General Wayne's campaign, Spain 
made a treaty with the United States, dated March 3d, 179(3, in 
which the free navigation of the Mississippi was guaranteed to 
the Americans, but she was very tardy in the fulfillment of its 
stipulations. 

At that time there were strong Spanish forts at Natchez and 
Vicksburg, then called Walnut Hills, and although the treaty 
bound her to give them up, she still held possession of them» 
greatly to the perplexity of the Americans. Meantime this faith- 
less government continued her intriguing with the Western peo- 
ple to induce them to set up a government for themselves inde- 
pendent of the union; and as an incentive, sent a Mr. Powers as 
a secret agent among them, with instructions to oft'er them the 
free navigation of the Mississippi, besides a hundred thousand 
dollars in cash.f 

No substantial encouragement was given to this scheme, and 
on the 5th of October, 1798, Spain reluctantly retired from the 
posts she had unjustly held on the east bank of the Mississippi, 
and American vessels could now pass to the sea unmolested. In 
July,'1796, the British evacuated all the posts which they held on 
American soil in the West. Detroit, the most important of 
them all, was immediately taken possession of by a detachment 
under Captain Porter. On retiring from the post, the British, 

* " Lnttle-tnrtle. died in the spring ot 1812, at his residence, but a short time 
before the declaration of war against England by the U. States. His portrait, 
by Stewait, graces the walls of the war-office of our nation. The following 
notice appeared in the public prints at the time of his doath : ' Fort Wayne. 21 
July. 1812. Ou the 14 inst. the celebrated Miami chief, the Little-turtle, died 
at this plac^, at the age of 65 years. Perhaps thoi-e is not left on this conti- 
nent one of liis color so distinguished in council and in war. His disorder was 
the gout. He died in a camp, because he chose to be in the open air. He met 
death with great firmness. The agent tor Indian affairs had him buried with 
the honors of war, and other marks of distinction suited to his character.' " 

t State Papers, Vol. II.Ip. 103. 



The Connecticut Land Company. 225 

regardless of the courtesies for which the}' are generally exem- 
plary, acted the part of a malicious tenant on leaving a house. 

The wells of the fort were filled with stones, the windows of 
the fort broken, the gates locked, and the kejs left in the custody 
of an aged Negro,* who, with fidelity to his trust, promptly gave 
them to the Americans, and the old fort passed out of the hands 
of its tenacious occupants, with its glorious memories giving 
place to painful regrets, as they took their departure down the 
clear waters of the Straits, bidding good-bye to their dusky 
friends, who had so many years hung around the place in hope 
of alliance against the aggressive Americans. 

The State of Connecticut, in 1795, disposed of a portion of 
the "Western Reserve to a company known by the title of the 
Connecticut Land Company, of which Moses Cleavelandf was 
one of the directors. The next year, he with a party of survey- 
ors started for the new country in April. Their route was chosen 
through Albany, thence to Oswego. Here they arrived the 3d 
of June, a month before the British had evacuated the Western 
posts, and tliese punctilious sentinels still guarded Oswego with 
the watchfulness of picket-men o i the eve of a battle. I'lie par- 
ty, therefore, durst not pass the British fort at the mouth of the 
Oswego river without permission, lest the commander should 
give their batteaux a cannon-shot as they paddled past its frown- 
ing battlements. On being asked permission to do this, with 
dogged resolution the British commander refused it, and tlie 
American party were obliged to carry their batteaux circuitously 
around tlie fort by land, and launch them below the British fort, 
beyond the reach of their guns. Thence, coasting along the 
southern shore of Lake Ontario, they arrived at Bufi^alo, wiiere 
they remained several days, to hold a council with the Seneca and 
Mohawk chiefs, for the purpose of purchasing any interest they 
might claim in the lands composing such portions of the West- 
ern Reserve as the Connecticut Land Company had purchased.;}: 

The celebrated Brant and Red Jacket were the principal de]ui- 
ties on the ])artof the Indians. Tliese able men saw with regrets 
the inevitable downfall of their power, and all they could do was 
to make provision for the creature comforts of their tribes, while 
they yet had a being. After several days spent in parleying, 

*Lanman's Mich., p. 167. 

fHis name was spelled with an "a" in the first syllable. 

X Note. — The origina home of the Mohawks and Senecas was in Eastern Ne-w 
York, but they had extended their dominions into Ohio by riyht of conquest. 
Ihit at the treaty of Gieenville, when these lands were ceded to the United 
States by the Western tribes, the Mohawks and Senetas were not present; 
hen •<• Wvi necessity to confer with them to prevent any future trouble as to the 
validity to these titles. 



-^<> Red Jacket's Cauatic Speech. 

twenty -five hundred dollars worth of goods were accepted as pay 
for their interest in the lands, the land on which the present city 
of Cleveland now stands being included in the tract. This offer 
was accepted, not without some bitter reproaches on the part of 
Red Jacket, who said: 

"You white people make a great parade about religion; you 
say you liave a book of laws and rules which was given you by 
the Great Spirit, but is this true? Was it written by his own 
hand and given to you? No, it was written b}^ your own people. 
They do it to deceive you. Their whole wishes center here 
(pointing to his pocket); all they want is the money. (It hap- 

Sened there was a priest in the room at the same time who heard 
im.) lie says white people tell them, they wish to come and live 
among them as brothers, and learn them agriculture. So they 
bring on im])leinents of husbandry and presents, tell them good 
stories, and all appears honest, but when they are gone all 
appears as a dream. Our land is taken from us, and still we 
don't know how to farm it." 

Having successfully executed this important business, the 
party embarked on lake Erie for their destination. This was the 
first introduction of the N ew-Englanders to the waters of the lakes 
for the purposes of permanent settlement. For more than a cen- 
tury the French had been here, and for the past thirty years the 
English had iield the shores of these waters exclusively to them- 
selves, Now the rising star of a new power, in the twentieth 
year of its existence, had penetrated across the wilderness of 
New York, and was about to lay the dimension-stone for the ci^y 
of Cleveland, on a model destined soon to be repeated with suc- 
cess at other places along the margin of these shining waters. 
On the 2nd of J uly the party arrived at Ei-ie, which still retained 
the old French name of Presque Isle. Here the ruins of the old 
French fort still remained, as a frail memorial of French ambi- 
tion crushed bv the strono-arm of England, who in turn had held 
but a transient lease of power. Passing on to the west, they 
arrived at Conneaut on the 4th of July. Here they celebrated 
the day with suitable toasts, and, says the Journal of Cleaveland, 
" drank several pails of grog, supped, and retired in remarkable 
good order." 

The party now began to lay out the country' in townships, 
according to the admirable system of government surveys begun 
on the Ohio river in 1785. 

On the 10th of August, having run a line around a large tract, 
they came back to lake Erie again. Their provisions were 
exhausted, and from the following item in Cleaveland's journal, 
their rum had come to its last gill. Says the record: '"Just as 
wo wore starting for Conneaut, we saw a large party coming along 



\^ (1 



li\v 



b 

hi 

33 



3 



If 



■^M- 



«1; 






2 M 



eg 



•1 f 



f^/ 










Cleoeland Settled. 227 

the heach, and supposing them to be Indians, and having onlj a 
gill left in onr bottle, we were hurrying to a spring to drink it 
before they could come up and tease us for it, but to our astonish- 
ment, we found them to be two of the parties of surveyors com- 
ing in togetlier." 

While the surveyors were at work, Mr. Cleaveland made an 
excursioT) to the site destined to become the city which was to 
bear his name, arriving there on the 22nd of August, Says 
AViiittk'sey, in liis History of Cleveland: 

" As they coasted close along the shore, overhung by a dense 
green forest, mirrored in the Avaters over Avhich they were pass- 
ing, the mouth of the river disclosed itself, as a small opening, 
between low banks of sand. The man who controls the party is 
seated in the stern, steering his own craft, which is gracefully 
headed into the stream. 

" His complexion was so swarthy, his figure so square and 
gtout, and his dress so rude, that the Indians supposed some of 
the blood of their race had crept into his veins." 

" A 3'oung growth of oaks, with low bushy tops, covered the 
ground. Beneath them were thrifty bushes, rooted in a lean, but 
dry and pleasent soil, highly favorable to the object in view. A 
smooth and even field sloped gently towards the lake, whose blue 
waters could be seen extending to the horizon. His imagination 
doubtless took a pardonable flight into the future, when a great 
commercial town should take the place of the stinted forest 
growth, which the northern tempests had nearly destroyed." 

" Enough men were left to put up a storehouse for the sup- 
plies, and a cabin for the accommodation of the surveyors." 

" Houses had before this been built by white people, near the 
mouth of the river; but not for the purpose of pennanent settle- 
ment. Col. James Hillman avers that he put up a small cabin 
on the east side of the river, in 178G, near the foot of Superior 
street, of which, however, nothing further is known. Sometime 
previous to 1787, a party who were wrecked upon a British ves- 
sel, between one and two miles east of the river, built an hut, 
large enough to shelter themselves through one winter. On the 
west side of the river a log store house was erected, prior to 1786, 
to protect the flour which was brought here from Pittsburg, on 
the way to Detroit. This building, in a dilapidated state, was ' 
istaiiding in 1797, when it was occupied awhile by James Kings- 
bury and his family." 

Surveys for the streets of the new city were made in a few 
weeks, the first ])lat bearing date of October 1st, 1790. It was 
tiie first town laid out exclusively by New England citizens on 
the entire chain of lakes, and at this day is second in commercial 
importance only to Chicago. 



228 Hut Built at Chicago. 

The same summer, a colored man from St. Dominsjo, named 
Jean Baptiste Pont An Sable, in his forest wanderings, was 
attracted to the old portage of Chicago. Here he built a hut on 
the north bank of the main branch of the Chicago river, and set- 
tled among the Pottowattomies, who then dwelt at the ])lace. 
Without doubt he was well received by them, as he soon aspired 
to the dignity of a chief, but like many others before and since, 
his ambitious aims were never to be realized. Thus baulked, he 
relinquished the improvements he had made and removed to 
Peoria.* 

The small beginning he liad made, however, was sooti appro- 
priated by a Frenchman named La Mai, who appears to have 
been only a transient occupant, like many others of his country- 
men before him, and the only mark which gives significance to 
his brief residence here, is the fact that he sold out his establish- 
ment to one who became the true pioneer of Chicago as an Amer- 
ican city. This was John Kinzie, whose romantic adventures 
incarnate with the spirit of forest liie as it then was in its fasci- 
nations will be told in future pages. 

And now the old century fades away in a peaceful twilight, 
burying in oblivion the crushed hopes of France and England, 
wh.le the American star is rising above the dip of the horizon. 

* Waburn, P. 490. 



CHAPTEK XIY. 

William Henry Harrison^ His Ancestry and Birth — Is Ap 
pointed Governor of the Indian Territory — Spanish Posses 
sion of louisiana — Napoleon^ s Amhitious Designs Shou i 
iy the Conquest of St. Domingo^ and hy the Purchase of I( a- 
isianafrom Spain — French Designs Frustrated hy the En- 
glish — P^irchase of Louisiana iy the United States — Conse- 
quent Necessity cf a Fort on the Upper Lakes — St. Joseph 
Chosen for its Locality — The Indians Ohject to its Erection 
— Chicago Next Selected — The Fort Built Here — Margaret 
and Flizaheth., the Captives — Their Adventures, and tohat 
grew out of Them — John Kinzie — His Youthful Life — He 
Settles in Chicago — The Fur Trade and the Engage. 

Private ownership to the soil is a condition peculiar to new 
countries. It may almost be called one of the modern inventions 
of civilization, first brought to perfection in America. The effect 
of tliis distribution of nature's most valuable gift, has been mani- 
fest in school houses, libraries, newspapers, magazines, pictures 
-and well furnished habitations, universally brought into beiug 
where men own the soil they cultivate. The nineteenth century 
opened upon the people of the United States with a new field, on 
which these good things were to be multiplied in extent beyond 
limit, as far as could then be seen. The unmeasured fields 
beyond the Ohio — enriched, by a thousand autumnal dressings of 
leaf-mould, or the decay of prairie growth — looked inviting to the 
luisbandmen of New England and Old Virginia, and emigra- 
tion from these places began again after assurance of peace with 
the Indians. 

A character is now introduced into history — one of those master- 
spirits who can only live and grow in a new country. Not that 
men thus reared are consequently superior to the cultured men 
•of old communities in all things, but that they exceed them in 
economizing effective force from apparently humble sources; in 
bringing about large results from small beginnings, and in the 
adaptation of ways and means to ends, cannot be denied. Such 
A man was William Henry Harrison, whose name deserves a 



230 Harrison Ajpjpointed Governor of Indiana Territory. 

place with a long list of illustrious Americans, who, like himself, 
grew into distinction from the toils of camp life in the forest. 

He was born in Berkle}', Virginia, in 1773. His ancestors 
had made themselves conspicuous in the Cromwell ian wars 
in England, and his father was one of the signers' of the 
Declaration of American Independence, and after it was achieved 
became governor of Virginia. William Henry was the young- 
est son. When Governor St. Clair was gathering his forces 
to invade the Indian country, he had an earnest desire to partici- 
pate in the campaign, and for that purpose applied to General 
Washington, then President. He received an ensign's commis- 
sion and started for Fort Washington. He arrived too late to 
take part in tlie ill-fated expedition of St. Clair, but joined Gen. 
Wayne in his successful campaign which succeeded it. After 
1 the treaty of Greenville, which restored peace to the forest, he was 
,1 placed in command of Fort Washington, and shortly afterward 
' married the daughter of Judge Symes, the same who was the 
proprietor of Symes Purchase, spoken of in a preceeding chapter. 
His ambition soon took a higher range than to command a small 
squad of dissolute soldiers in a peaceful fort, and he resigned his 
commission as captain, and was soon appointed secretary of the 
Northwest Territory, and in 1792 was elected delegate to Congress 
— he being the first to represent the interests of the northwest at 
Washington. On the 13th of May, 1800, he was a])pointed gov- 
ernor of the Territorj^ of Indiana, which had been set oft" from 
the Northwest Territory. Its area included the present states of 
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, AVisconsin and Minnesota. The 
seat of government was fixed at Vincennes, on the Wabash river. 
The number of inliabitants of the Indiana Territory was 5,641 
whites, while that of the Ohio division of the Northwest Terri- 
tory was 45,365.* The number of Indians inhabiting the Indi- 
ana Territory was more than three times that of the whites. They 
had all tasted the fruits of war with tiieir white neighbors, but 
being still in quiet possession of their hunting-grounds, felt a 
Iiapp}^ assurance that they and their ottspriug should forever con- 
tinue to occupy the limitless forests of the country, which then,, 
from their vast extent, seemed to bid perpetual defiance to white 
settlements. 

The Northwest was now organized into two territories, possess- 
ing only the germs of her ultimate grandeur, and these were not 
within the reach of human vision to forecast. Spain held the 
whole west side of the Mississippi, and such portions of the 
eastern side as came within the limits of the present State of 
Louisiana, which included the port of New Orleans. Besides 

*Carey's Atlixs, pub.ished in Philadelphia, 1801. 



The Purchase of Louisiana. 231 

this menacing power at the back door of the United States, whieli 
must shackle the prosperity of the J^orthwest as long as it lasted, 
our relations with England were of a slipshod character, from the 
iact that her colonial ports were not open to our commerce, which 
forced us to trade with an important part of the Avorld through 
English merchants. But as good fortune for the United States 
would have it, Spain was showing evident signs of decrepitude, 
soon to be made manifest by her relinquishment to France of her 
entire possessions of Louisiana. 

This she had already done at the treaty of St. Ildefonso, on the 
first of October, 1800. Through some subtle dij^lomacy this 
cession was kept a secret till at the treaty of Amiens, which 
hushed Europe to a treacherous peace, it was published. The 
rising star of JSapoleon was then mounting the horizon of France, 
and she looked forward to the day when her former greatness in 
America might be restored. On tlie part of the United States 
grave apprehensions arose that the new owners of the soil would 
close the navigation of the Mississippi against them, and build 
up a nation on its western bank, which might prove a dangerous 
rival by securing the entire commerce of the gulf. At this time 
JSapoleon sent an army to invade St. Domingo, which strength- 
ened this theory in the minds of the Americans. Success at first 
attended the expedition, but soon afterwards the slaves arose and 
drove the invaders from the island. Meantime Euirland was 
forming fresh combinations against him, and war broke out again 
between that power and France in the following May. Tlie 
defeat of his army in St. Domingo, and the supremacy of the 
English marine, now made Louisiana an uncertain possession, 
and French hopes of aggrandizement on the soil of America 
were suddenly dashed to the ground. Up to this time no thoughts 
had ever been entertained in the United States of purchasing 
Louisiana. On the contrary, this immense country had ever 
been a mountain in the path of western progress, commanding 
as it did their only avenue wherewith to shi]) their exports to 
foreign countries. Now the commotion which prevailed in 
Europe by the chance direction affairs had taken, had ripened 
this fruit for an American sickle, and America purchased it for a 
little over fifteen million dollars. The treaty of cession was rati- 
fied by Congress on the 21st of October, 1803.* 

While the negotiations were in progress, the British minister, 
in liis heated zeal to inflict a wound on France, made a proposi- 

*The purchase had been nindeon the oOth of April piwious by Robert R. Liv- 
infrston, then our resident Minister in Paris, and Mr. Moore, who had just been 
sent thei-e by the Executive on a special mission. 'J'he lew montlis that Fiancii 
had held the country, showed the impossibility (f any European power's at- 
tempt to acquire any Ameiican soil that laid in the path of Americon i^rogress. 



232 Commission to Locate a Fort on Lake Michigan. 

tion to Rufus King, our envoy to London, to conquer the said 
country from France and cede it to the United States after peace 
had been made with that power. Tliis proposition was not seri- 
ously entertained by American statesmen, who had too much pen- 
etration to submit so important a matter to the fortune of war or 
the caprices of a foreign cabinet. *When the sale w^as made, said 
l^apoleon, in the bitterness of thwarted ambition: "I have given 
to England a maritime rival that will sooner or later humble her 
pride." Spain made a feeble and unavailing protest ao;ainst the 
transfer, lest she should ultimately lose Florida and Mexico by 
its contagious example, both of which events have since been ver- 
ified. This auo-mentation to the territorv of the United States 
Drought increased responsibilities, and demanded preparations 
wherewith to utilize it, The^British influence among the count- 
less Indian warriors along the upper lakes had been gathering 
strength by means of half-civilized courtesies, adapted to their 
tastes, ever since the days of the Revolution; and a demonstra- 
tion of American power to offset this influence, was necessary to 
guarantee safety to the frontier settlements already made, as well 
as to bring the northern portions of Louisiana at least within 
hailing distance of its new owners. Already the project of build- 
ing a fort at the southern extremity of lake Michigan had been 
entertained by Congi-ess, while negotiations for the purchase of 
Louisiana was pending, but now its immediate necessity was 
apparent, and commissioners were promptly sent from Washing- 
ton to select a suitable place for it. 

The mouth of the St. Joseph river, on the east bank of lake 
Michigan, was first selected, and preparations made to build the 
fort, wiien the Indians of the countrv withheld their consent for 
its construction, and the commissioners were obliged to select 
another place, as they ha'l no power to' enforce their demands — 
the Indian title here never having been extinguished. Across 
the lake was the portage of Chicago, where six miles square had 
been ceded to the United States by the Indians in the treaty ot 
Greenville, in 1795, It was a bold push into the interior to es- 
tablish a fort liei'e, but there was no other available spot, and 
orders for its construction were issued from the War Department 
early in the summer of 1803. Detroit and Michilimacinac were 

*That some i'ortuitious contiii<j:ency might possibly yet give Louisiana to the 
EngHsh, wsis probably the intention of the British Minister in making this pro- 
position to Mr. King. This theory is strengthened by a letter that a British 
officer high in rank had previously written to the Board of Trade, from which 
the following is an extract : "Should the Americans thus once fairly possess 
themselves of that colony, it will be very difficult to dislodge them, and from 
tlie time they establish a footing in any port in the Gulf of Florida the inter- 
coui--e between the European nations and the West Indies will be very insecure 



Fort Built at Chicago. 233 

then tlie extreme western outposts of the Americans along the 
lakes. A company of United States soldiers was stationd at the 
former place, nnder command of Capt. John Whistler, an officer 
of the Eevolntion,and to him was entrusted this service. ^ Under 
his command were two young lieutenants — William Whistler, 
his oWest son, and James S. Swearin<i;ton, from Chillicothe, Ohio. 
To the latter he gave orders to conduct the soldiers across the 
forests of Michigan to Chicago, while lie and his wife, his son 
William and hisVife — a young bride — took passage on the U. S. 
schooner Tracy for the same destination, there to set up the Amer- 
ican standard at a spot venerable with the memories of one hun- 
dred and thirty years of transient French occupation, though 
now inhabited by only three rude huts of French fur-traders, each 
with their usual 'adjuncts — the Indian wife and the inevitable 
brood of half-breed sprites. 

The schooner arrived on the Fourth of July and anchored out- 
side the bar, for the mouth of the river was choked with a sand 
<lrift. Here she discharged her freight of ammunition, ai-ms 
and provisions into small boats, in which they were rowed into 
the river and landed on the spot where the fort was to be built. 
Two thousand Indians were assemble.d, who, with many a grunt 
of surprise and approbation, beheld these preparations so fatal to 
their security. 

The schooner was the especial object of their admiration. 
They called it the big canoe with wings. After the freight and 
passengers were landed, Capt. Tracy, the commander, gave or- 
ders to set sail for Detroit, and the ship soon vanished into the 
distant dip of the sky and left the new-comers amono^ their swar- 
thy associates, cut off fi-om the outside world. Their tiist busi- 
ness was to build the block house — an easy task but for the 
hauling of the logs to the ground selected for its site. They had 
neither oxen or horses with which to do this, but the soldiers 
geared themselves with ropes, and performed the onerous toil. 
i The summer and autumn of 1803 were spent befoie the fort 
was finished, but comfortable quarters wi re secured for the gar- 
ison before cold weather had commenced. The defenses con- 
sisted of two block houses, one on the southeast and the other on 
the northwest corner of the grounds enclosed. These were large 
enough for a parade ground, and were surrounded by a substan- 
tial palisade. A sallyport connected the enclosure with the river 
by means of a subterranean passage. Immediately north of the 
fort, the main branch of the Chicago river rolled its quiet waters 
to tlie lake, and on the west, half a mile of wet prairie intervened 
between the fort and the south branch of the Chicago river. On 
the east were the shifting sand-drifts through which the river 
found its way to the lake by a detour southwardly along the shore 



234 ' Armament and Garrison of the Fort. 

half a mile south of its present outlet. Three pieces of light 
artillery and small arms constituted the armament. Attached to 
the fort was a two-storj log building, sided with clap-boards, riven 
from logs like barrel staves. This was called the United Statea 
factory, which meant a place to store goods belonging to the gov- 
ernment designed for gratuitous distribution among the Indians, 
It stood outside of the palisade to the west, and was under the 
charge of an agent wdio was sutler to the fort, and was subject to 
the orders of its commander. The garrison of the fort consisted 
of 1 captain, 1 second lieutenant, 1 ensign, 4 sergeants, 1 surgeon 
and 54 privates.* 

Savs Hon. Zebina Eastman, in his history of Chicago: "This, 
fort then occupied one of the most beautilul sites on the lake 
shore. It was as high as any other point, everlooking the sur- 
face of the lake; commanding as well as any other view on this 
flat surface could; the prairie extending to the south to the belt 
of timber along the south branch and on the north side, and the 
white sand hills both to the north and south, which had for 
ages past been the sport of the lake winds." 

This lonesome hermitage soon became ii nucleus around which 
the restive spirits Avhich torest life had brought into being, gath- 
ered, not to enrich themselves and live in luxurious ease, but to 
follow the bent of an ambition that led their way into an 
untroden ])ath. 

What matter if dangers lurked beside it? These were so 
many stimulants to variegate the path of life and give point to 
its smootlier surface by contrast with its rougher. Daring and 
muscle then held a high place in frontier accomplishments. 
They were necessary in order to push the American "idea" far 
into the forest in advance, to pave the way for other gracea 
which M'Cre some day to follow. 

Demand begets supply in every essential want of humanity; 
and when pioneers are w'anted to face danger, plenty are willing 
to enlist under an assurance that they will be fully renumerated 
on the spot by that immunity from restraint which the forest 
secures to its tenants, and by that dashing style of good fellow- 
ship which is ever present between, themselves and their com- 
rades. Whatever may be the rougli exterior of such men, they 
are heroes in the estimation of even the most cultured leaders of 
society, and even the prude regards them with charity, and ac- 
cepts even their eccentricies without censure. Chicago was un- 
like Boston, which was settled by Winthrop an 1 the Puritans. 
She (Chicago) began under the naive elements of irontier life, 
and after many years graduated under the influence of the seed 

'American State Papers, Vol. I, p. 175, 176. 



Margaret and Elizaheth. 235 

they (the Puritans) phinted on the eastern frin<>e of the conti- 
nent, somewhat modified however in its march across the inter- 
venini? country). 

Among the venturesome pioneers of Virginia, was a hack- 
woodsman named McKenzie. He, witli a number of his com- 
rades settled at the mouth of Wolf's creek, where it empties into 
the Kanawha, in Giles county. 

During Dunmore's war on the frontier, the Shawanese, then 
the great formidable power of the forest, in one of their border 
forays came suddenly upon the home of McKenzie, killed his 
wife, and led two of his children into captivity. The names of 
the young captives were Margaret, ten years old, and Elizabeth, 
eight years old. They were taken to old Chill icothe, the 
great Indian town of the Siiawanese, wliere they were adoj)ted 
into the family of a higli-bred Indian chief, and raised under the 
tender care of his obedient squaw, according to custom. Ten 
years later, when the girls were in the full bloom of maidenly 
beauty, Margaret was allowed to accompany her foster father on 
a hunting excursion to tlie Saint Mary's river, in the present 
State of Indiana, near Ft, Wayne, under the especial care of a 
matronly squaw who was one of the party. Arriving at tlie 
place, a young chief ot the same tribe became enamored by the 
graces and accomplishments of the young ca]>tive. But Marga- 
ret, who retained vivid memories of her youth, with all the 
tender associations that clustered around the hearthstone of civ- 
ilization, recoiled from the savage attentions of her swarthy 
lover, and determined not to yield her heart to one who had no 
higher destiny for her than to ornament his leggins with porcu- 
pine quills, as one of the highest accomplishments of which a 
squaw was capable. Whatever else may be the gifts of an 
Indian, he knows not how to play the rejected lover with the 
manly graces by which the impassioned young civilian gently 
tones up the aft'ections of his hesitating fair, and he (the Indian) 
attempts by force what he cannot win by grace. Margaret's 
audacious lover was no exception to this rule, and at midnight 
approached the camp, where she was sleeping, intending to force 
her to become his wife. According to the Indian custom a din 
of yells and the rattle of an Indian drum announced the inten- 
tions of the would-be bridegroom to the teri-ified victim. 

Aroused to a full sense of danger, the heroine leaped from her 
couch and fled into the glooms of the forest for a protection that 
her friends could no loniijer give her. Fortunately her dog fol 
lowed her as she fled down the bank of the St. Mary's river to 
the stockade, half a mile distant, where the horses were kept. 
Ere she reached the place, the footsteps of her detestable lover 
were heard close behind. She turned, set lier dog upon him, 



236 Early Life of John Kinzie. 

and while the noble animal was grappling with the wretch, she 
reached the stockade, unhitched a horse, leaped on his back, and 
took flight through the wilderness, seventy-iive miles to her In- 
dian home at Chillicothe. The fate of the faithful dog was never 
known, but he was probably killed while fighting in defense. of 
his mistress. The horse died the next day after he had performed 
so wonderful a feat, withont rest or sustenance. This heroic girl 
and her sister Elizabeth, aftei-wards became the mothers of some 
of the first pioneers of Chicago. 

^ In the eventful year of 1763 was born at Quebec a boy, des- 
tined not only to participate in the romantic riot of forest life as 
it then was in the great interior, but to fix his name on the page 
of history, with the honorable distinction as the Father of Chi- 
cago. ^ This was John Kinzie. His father died in his infancy, 
and his mother married a Mr. Forsyth, and removed to New 
York. At the age of tenor twelve John determined to go back to 
his native place, and armed with this resolution, went aboard a 
sloop ready to sail for Albany. The bark was under way before 
the young truant was missed from the nursery. The poor mother 
had lost a former child by her first husband, the remains of whom 
had been picked up in the woods of Canada, lost and starved to 
death, and now her heart bled afresh for what she snpposed to be 
the awful fate of Johnny. Fortune, however, had ordered it 
otherwise. The lad made the acquaintance, on board the sloop, 
of a gentleman going to Quebec, who paid his fare, and landed 
him safely at the place. Here the young adventurer soon got 
employment as an apprentice to a silversmith,* and won his way 
to distinction among the restive spirits of his eventful age, and 
next we find him a iur-trader in Detroit during the English occu- 
pation of the place. After the adventure of "Margaret, the cap- 
tive, as just told, she, with her sister Elizabeth, were taken to 
this place by their foster-father, who ielt proud of his adopted 
children, and here they became acquainted with John Kinzie. It 
is not strange that the brilliant young adventurer beheld the 
beautiful captive Margaret with the eye of a lover, nor that the 
heroine felt a similar sentiment for him, and they were soon mar- 
ried. Elizabeth at the same time met a Scotchman named Clark, 
and married him, and their swarthy foster-parent took his path 
back to Chillicothe alone. The two young couples lived in De- 
ti-oit about five years, during which time Margaret had three 
children, William, James and'Elizabeth, and Elizabeth had two 
children, John K. and Elizabeth. 

The treaty of Greenville, in 1795, having restored peace to the 
border, Mr. Isaac McKenzie, the father from whom the captives 

* Wabun, p. 193. 



The Clyhoum Family. 237 

had been talcen almost a quarter of a centiirj before, received 
tidiiii^s of his children, and went to Detroit to see them. As 
mio-lit be supposed, the sight aroused tender emotions tliat had 
slumbered for years in painful suspense. Nor were the hearts of 
tlie children less moved at the sight of their aged parent, whose 
memory 1 ad never been obliterated, even during their savage 
training in the tumult of an Indian camp. Under this strong 
pressure of filial devotion the two mothers, with their children, 
returned with their father to the old home, to which arrange- 
ment both of their husbands consented. A final separation was 
not intended, but time and distance divorced them forever. Mr, 
Kinzie afterwards removed to Saint Josephs, where he married a 
Mrs. McKillip, the widow of a British officer. Margaret mar- 
ried Mr. Benjamin Hall, of Virginia, and Elizabeth married Mr. 
Jonas Clybourn, of the" same place. David, the oldest son of 
Benjamin Hall and Margaret, made a journey to Chicago in 1822, 
where he remained three years. Heie a wilderness of shining 
waters, as the upper lakes then were, nestled amidst an unlimited 
wilderness of woodland and prairie teeming with fertility hidden 
beneath a forest studded with overgrown trees, or a prairie ornate 
with tall grasses and thrifty shrubbery. On his return to Vir- 
ginia, his flattering account of the place and 'its future destiny, 
which he foreshadowed with a truthful forecast, induced a num- 
ber of persons to emigrate thither. The first of these was Archi- 
bald Clybourn, the oldest son of Elizabeth, who remained a per- 
manent resident and an esteemed citizen, well known to thou- 
sands of the present inhabiiants of Chicago. 

Jlis mother was Elizabeth, the captive, who with her second 
husband, Mr. Clybourn, soon afterwards came to Chicago. More 
will be said of them in future pages. Mr. Benjamin Hall was 
another one of Chicago's pioneers who emigrated to the place in 
consequence of Mr. David Hall's commendations of its future 
promise. Margaret, the captive, was liis aunt, and to him the 
writer is indebted for the detail of Margaret's and Elizabeth's 
history.* Mr. Hall is now a resident of Wheaton. He came to 
Chicago in 1830, and was the proprietor of the first tannery ever 
established there. He married the sister of the Hon. J. D. Caton, 
and raised an esteemed family of children, who are now scattered 
in the west. Elizabeth Kinzie, daughter of John Kinzie, by Mar- 
garet, became the wii'e of Samuel Miller, from a respectable 
Quaker family of Ohio. This woman was highly esteemed by 
all who knew her for her excellent traits. Her husband kept the 
Miller house at the forks of the Chicago rivers, and is still 

*A partial history ot Marjraret's captivity is given in Howe's Historical Col- 
leclions of Viryiiiia, pay;e3 27cJ and 279. 



238 John Kinzie and Family Settle in Chicago. 

remembered by a few of Chicago's old settlers as a respected cit- 
izen. Mrs. Miller died at this house in 1832, leaving three verj 
promising children. 

James Kinzie came to Chicago about 1824, and was well received 
by his father, who assisted him in his first efforts to establish 
himself in the place. He amassed considerable wealth, but lost 
the most of it in the crash of 1837, when he removed to Wiscon- 
sin, where he died about theyear 1860. 

We will now retnrn to the early days of the fort, where a few 
snperanuated soldiers stood guard at this frontier post through 
the winter of 1803-4, like hermits in a wilderness. If they ob- 
tained any tidings of what was going on in the ontside world, 
it must have been through the agency of some chance pedestrian 
messenger, and any news he might bring would lack authenticity. 
But even this satisfaction was probably not afforded them, in 
their wild recluse. The next spring, however, was destined to 
bring an arrival to their post of a permanent character, whose 
presence should help to bring around them the social conditions 
of settled communities. Mr. John Kinzie, himself, was then a 
resident of Detroit, but had determined to make Chicago his 
future home. His wife was the mother of a daughter by her 
first husband, which daughter was now a member of his family. 
The baby, John H. Kinzie, was now about six months old. An 
Indian trail then led from De'roit through Ypsilanti (then known 
as Charms trading station), Niles and St. Joseph, around the 
southern extremity of Lake Michigan, thence one branch led to 
Chicago and another to Rock Island, on the Mississippi river. 
This was the only way by which Mr. Kinzie could reach the 
place, and liorsel)ack was the only means of transportation. 

Accordingly their effects were packed in sacks and lashed to a 
horse's back, and Mr. and Mrs. Kinzie and the daughter were 
each mounted on a horse, with Johnny slunor in a swaddlinij 
pocket from the horn of a saddle, and the journey was begun. 
Day after day they pursued their wooded trail, camping ont each 
night, till Chicago was reached. Soon after his arrival he pur- 
chased a small French tradino; establishment of a man named 
IjcMai, of whom mention has been made in a previous chapter, 
and from time to time this hut was improved as the home of 
Mr. Kinzie, till a comfortable house substituted it, as shown in 
its ]ncture on another page. This was the fii-st private dwelling 
ever built in Chicago as an American city. It stood on the noi-th 
bank of the river, opposite the fort, fronting towards the south. 
A small boat chained to the bank was always in readiness to ferry 
forward and back between his home and the fort, and this con- 
stituted Chicao:o as it was then, befj^un bv John Kinzie and three 
French families who then resided there; one of which was Le- 



Mrs. Whistler. 239 

Mai's, and the other two were Onilmette's and Pettell's families. 
Onilmette remained a permanent resident of Chicago, and was 
ever true to the American interest, which record was rewarded 
by a large reservation of land for him north of Chicago, which 
still perpetuates his memory. Capt. Whistler's wife, then a 
bride of but sixteen years, is still (in 1879) living. Henry W. 
Ilurlbut, Esq., a present citizen of Chicago, visited her in 1875, 
and thus describes the interview in his pamphlet on Cliicago 
Antiquities, page 24: 

" It was a coveted privilege in which we songht, as any one 
might believe, for it was during the tremendous rain-storm of 
the evening of the 29th of October, 1875, that we sallied out to 
'Call on Mrs. Col. R. A. Kinzie for an introduction to that lady's 
mother, Mrs. Whistler, When we entered the parlor, the ven- 
erable woman was engaged at the centre-table in some game of 
amusement with her grand-children and great-grand-children, 
seemingly as much interested as any of the juveniles. 

(We will remark here that live generations ot this family have 
lived in Chicago.) 

" She claimed to enjoy good health, and was apparently an unu- 
sual specimen of well-preserved faculties, both intellectual and 
physical. She is of a tall form, and her appearance still indicates 
the truth of tlie common rejjort, that in her early years she was 
;a person of surpassing elegance. A marked trait of her has been 
a s]urit of unyielding energy and determination, and which length 
of years has not yet subdued. Her tenacions memory ministers 
to a voluble tongue, and we may say briefly, she is an agreeable, 
intelligent and sprightly lad}', numbering only a little over 88 
years. " To-day," said she, " I received my first pension on 
account of my liusband's services." Mrs. AVhistler resides in 
Newport, Kentucky. She has one son and several grandsons in 
the army. 13orii in Salem, Mass., July 3d, 1787, her maiden 
name was Julia Ferson, aiid her parents were John and Mary 
LaDuke Ferson. In childhood she removed with her parents to 
Detroit, whei-e slie received most of her edncation. In the month 
of May, 1802, she was married to William Whistler (born in 
Hagerstown, Md., about 1784), a second Lieut, in the company of 
his father, Capt. John Whistler, U. S. A., then stationed at Detroit." 

He held command of Fort Dearborn, the name given to the 
new fortification, till .1811, and during this whole time nothing 
occnrred to disturb the peace of the place. 

The Indians ke])t up a trade in fnrs with "Shaw-neawkee," the 
name they gave to Mr. Kinzie, which, in their langnage, meant 
a silversmith. And during this term of years the even measure 
of justice, as well as the agreeable demeanor of Mr. Kinzie to 
them, established a friendship between themselves and him, 



240 The Fur Trader. 

which proved a precious deliverance to himself and family when 
the Red Man aojain took tlie war-path. 

" Mrs. John H. Kinzie, the authoress of that graphic picture of 
frontier life (Wabun), in speaking of John Kinzie's first days in 
Chicago, and his experiences in the fur trade, in whicli he was 
engaged, says: " By degrees more remote trading posts were es- 
tablished by him, all contributing to the parent one at Chicago; 
at Milwaukee, with the Menominees; at Rock River, with the 
"Winnebagoes and the Pottawatomies; on the Illinois river and 
Kankakee, with the Pottawatomies of the Prairies and with the 
Kickapoos, in what was called ' Le Large' — being the widely ex- 
tended district afterwards created into Sangamon county. Each 
trading post had its superintendent and its complement of en- 
gages — its train of pack-horses and its equipment of boats and 
canoes. From most of the stations the furs and peltries were 
brought to Chicago on pack-horses, and the goods necessary for 
the trade were transported in return by the same method. The 
vessels which came in the spring and fall (seldom more than two 
or three annually), to bring the supplies and goods for the trade, 
took the furs that were already collected to Mackinaw, the depot 
of the Southwest and American Fur Companies. At other sea- 
sons they were sent to the place in boats coasting around the 
lake." 

"Of the Canadian voyageurs, or engages," (continues Mrs. 
Kinzie,) " a race that has now so nearly passed away, some notice 
may very properly here be given. Tliey were unlike any other 
class of men. Like the poet, they seemed born to their vocation. 
Sturdy, enduring, ingenious and light-hearted, they possessed a 
spirit capable of adapting itself to any emergency. No difficul- 
ties baffied, no hardships discouraged them, while their affection- 
ate nature led them to form attachments of the warmest charac- 
ter to their 'bourgeois,' or master, as well as to the native in- 
habitants amono; whom their ens^aacements carried them. Mon- 
treal, or according to their own pronunciation, Marrialle, was 
their depot. It was at that place that the agents commissioned 
to make up the quota for the different companies and traders, 
found material for their selections. 

The terms of engagement were usually fi-om four to six hun- 
dred livres (ancient Quebec currency) per annum, as wages, 
with rations of one quart of lyed corn and two ounces of tallow 
per diem, or its equivalent in wjiatever sort of food is to be found 
in the Indian country. Instances have been found of their sub- 
mitting cheerfully to fare upon fresh fish and maple sugar for a 
whole winter, when cut off from otlier supplies. It was a com- 
mon saying, " Keep an engagee to his corn and tallow, and he will 



MlcMlimacinac. -4^1 

serve yon well; give him pork and bread, and he soon gets be- 
yond your management." 

At this time Michilimacinac was a place of extensive com- 
merce with the Indians. Tliither went the distant Sioux, and 
other tribes, both from far and near, to exchange their furs for 
such necessities as had then become indispensable to the Indians. 
And there gathered the fearless spirits of the frontier, who glo- 
ried in the privations of the wilderness, wilder, if possible, than 
the natives themselves, and not less hardy. These excitements 
gave to the place a metropolitan character far above the Chicago 
portage, which was then only an outpost of Old " Mackinaw." 

Thus closes a chapter of civil and savage amenities springing 
into a transitory life, strangely intermingled together, while the 
young nation, in her fecundity, is giving birth to metropolitan 
cities. What was then a reality appeal's in retrospect like a 
dream to us who are rivalling each other in the arts of elegance 
and luxury, and jostling each other along the paths of life for 
want of elbow room wherewith to ventilate an ambition more 
studious in mentality, more psychological, more in accordance 
with man's nobler nature; but possibly not untarnished with 
subtle vices that will be more apparent to the readers of our his- 
tory a hundred years hence than they are to us now. 



.. L 



CHAPTER XV. 

Governor Harrison'' s Efforts to Extinguish Indian Titles to 
Lands — Indian Discontents — Tecumseh — The Prophet — 
Teciimseh^s Interview vnth Harrison — Its Threatening Xs- 
jpect — TecumseK's Attem2?t to Form a Confederacy — Harri- 
son Marches hito the Indian Country — Encamps at Tippe- 
canoe — The Prophet Attacks Him — Is Defeated — Tecumseh^ s 
Plans Frustrated hy the Battle — The Territory of Illinois 
Organized — Ninian Edwards Appointed Governor. 

Under tlie able administration of Harrison as governor of the 
territory of Indiana, and the peaceful appearance of the Indians, 
emigration increased, and the lands yet ceded by the Indians to 
the United States were qnite inadequate to the demand, and the 
call was for more land. To satisfy this call theWyandots ceded 
that portion of Ohio known as the Western Reserve on July 4, 
1805. On the 21st of August, the same year, the Miami's 
ceded a tract containing two million acres, Governor Harrison 
being the purchaser; and on the 30th of December following the 
Piankeshaws ceded a tract eighty miles wide along the west 
bank of the Wabash, which included all the land between that 
sti'eam and a cession which the Kaskaskias had made in 1803. 
While these tribes were relinquishing the Indian hunting 
grounds to white settlements by piecemeal, unmindful of the 
results which might grow out of such an abandonment of the 
forest, there were a few master minds among them who could 
clearly forecast the end, if such sales were not prevented. 
( Prominent among these was Tecumseh, Chief of the Shaw- 
aneese, who may be looked upon as the last representative of the 
original nobility of his declining race. He beheld the cessions 
of lands to the United States with alarm, and resolved to make 
one final effort to stay the progress of the woodchopper's axe, and 
preserve the remaining forests of the west inviolable to their 
native owners — a desperate and fool hardy resolution unless 
English aid was expected to his cause. But however certain this 
might appear in his estimation, he commenced the work before 
him in a peaceble and statesmanlike manner. The first step to 



Tecninseh Attemjpts to Form a Confederacy. 24-3 

be taken was to form an Indian confederacy, by means of a pri- 
vate council, with representative men among the Indians, the 
princi]ial object of which should be to prevent the furtlier sale 
of lands to the United States, except by consent of the confeder- 
acy, which was intended to unite the entire Indian population of 
the northwest. 

This council was lield at Greenville, about the year 1806. 
Tecumseh and his brother, who was gifted with prophecy as was 
supposed, were the leading- spirits comprising it. Billy Caldwell, 
an educated half-breed," was private secretary to Tecumseh. 

Tecumseh could read and write, but the book of nature was , 
his most highly prized volume, and the lines of the human face '' 
were in his scrutinizing glance the plain indexes to the heart. 
Greenville was from this time his headquarters, where he held 
his court, and from which place both he and his l)rother, the 
prophet, frequently went forth to visit the different tribes of the 
country, and impress upon them the necessity of a united effort 
for mutual protection. In this labor the prophet's influence was 
perhaps greater than that of Tecumseh himself, for it had a 
leverage from another world wherewith to bear upon life in this, 
while Tecumseh's logic was circumscribed to public policy. 

The prophet dreamed and saw visions, and his earnest zeal 
was soon rewarded with a great awakening among his swarthy 
brethi-en. Both he and Tecumseh lent their powerful influence 
in favor of temperance, as well as many other causes in which 
they were engaged. But the cause most at heart was the organ-A 
ization of the great Indian confederacy. In the spring of 1808, 
they moved their headquarters to the banks of a small stream, 
called Tippecanoe, which emptied into the Wabash, and here 
immediately sprung up a modern Mecca, to which swarthy pil- 
grims came fromfar and near to commune with some transcend- 
ent power which was to carry their race safely through the wil- 
derness of their griefs. All this time Tecumseh was running 
from tribe to tribe to propagate his new political principles, and 
no evidence exists that he advocated any tiling but peaceful meas- 
ures to fulfil his laudable designs, as history is compelled to call 
them. The following August he visited Gov. Harrison at Vin- 
cennes. The interview was a pleasant one, and won the confi- 
dence of Harrison sufficiently to set at rest any misgivings he 

*Billy Caldwell soon afterwards became principal chief of the Pottawatomies, 
and after the war was over made Chicago his residence, till his tribe was removed 
to the neighborhood of Council Bluffs, in 1835-6. Here he died in 1845 In 
1838 Mr. Perkins, who wrote "The Western Ainials," had an interview with 
him at Chicago, at which time lie had a trunk full of papers pertuining to the 
war, and particularly Tecumseh's participation in it; and it was at this inter- 
view that Mr. Perkins learned of the private council which Tecumseh held at 
Greenville. See Western Annals, p. 550. 



244 Win-a-mac's Influence in Council. 

mi^lit formerly have had as to direct warlike intentions of the 
distinguished chief. Still his caution never slept, and he vi^as 
ever on the watch for any new phase which might develop be- 
tween the two antagonistic elements nnder his territorial charge, 
at the head of one of which he stood, while Tecumseh abi)' repre- 
sented the other. Two years later, in 1810, the census of Indiana 
territory showed a population of 24,520, and there were in the 
territory 33 grist mills, 14 saw mills, 18 tanneries, 28 distille- 
ries, 3 powder mills, 1,256 hand-looms, and 1,350 spinning 
wheels. This showed a quadruple increase in the number of 
inhabitants, and much more than that in its agricultural and 
manufacturing interests during the ten years since its lirst or- 
ganization as a territory. 

That these augmentations to the white settlements had in- 
creased the jealousy of Tecumseh and the Prophet, was well 
known. The latter was daily increasing in popularity, as was 
amply shown by the numbers who gathered around him to hear 
him foretell the good things in store for the Indian race, and 
tone up their resolution to verify them. Meantime Harrison 
deemed it prudent to try if possible to counteract this influence, 
and to this end sent messengers to the Miamis, Delawares and 
Pottawatomies, whose business it was to assure those tribes of 
the protection and friendship of the United States, and to warn 
them against the pretensions of the Prophet. His influence had 
now extended to the tribes around lake Michigan, and early in 
May, 1810, the Pottawatomies, Chippewas and Ottawas held a 
council at St. Joseph to consider the propriety of joining his 
standar.l. 

In this council Win-a-mac, a distinguished Pottawatomie chief, 
well known to the early settlers of Chicago, used his influence 
against the Prophet. This friendly intervention in favor of the 
whites Avas due to the influence which Mr. Kinzie and the ofiicers 
of Fort Dearborn had exerted over him. It prevailed in the 
council, and no enconragement was given to the emissaries of the 
Prophet. On the contrary, Win-a-nuic sent valuable information 
to Governor Harrison as to the numbers of hostile tribes. jN^o 
act of hostility had yet been committed, but signs of brooding 
discontent were on the increase; among the Shawanese, in par- 
ticular, who, in their honor-clad armor of independence, refused 
to receive their annuity of salt which the United States govern- 
ment were accustomed to give, and insulted the agents sent to de- 
liver it, by calling them " dogs." This palpable sign of hostility 
caused Governor Harrison to send a messenger Ibrtliwith to 
Prophet's town* to ascertain the causes of discontent. At first the 

* An Indian town, near Tippecanoe Creek, where the prophet lived. 



Interview Between Harrison and Tecumseh. 245 

prophet laid the blame as usual on some of his hasty jonno-men, 
but when pressed bj Mr. Dubois, Harrison's faithful messenger, 
for the real reason, he complained that the Indians had been 
cheated out of their lands — that no sale was good unless made 
by all tiie tribes. In rej^ly to this complaint, Governor Harrison 
returned an answer, offering to restore any lands to the Indians 
that liad not been fairly purchased. This message was sent by 
a Mr. Barron, with two associates, Brouillette and Dubois. 
Arriving at the place they were conducted into the presence of 
the high priest, with no small measure of ceremony. When within 
a few feet of his majesty, ''He looked at me," said Barron, 
"for several minutes without sjDeaking or making any sign of 
recognition, although he knew me Avell. At last he spoke, ap- 
parently in anger. 'For what purpose do 3'Ou come here?' 
said he. He then accused them all of being spies, and point- 
ing to the ground, said : 'There's your grave ! Look on it' " 
Tecumseh, wdio was present, now interfered, to save the lives 
of the messengers — assured them of their safety, and received 
their message. No answer was given to it, but Tecumseh said 
he would visit Harrison at Yincennes, in a few days, and re- 
ply to him. The messengers now Withdrew. . 

On the 12th of August succeeding (1810), true to his word, 
Tecumseh, attended by 75 warriors, paid his respects to Governor 
Harrison. He remained in Yincennes twelve days, holding fre- 
quent interviews with him, always with an air of hauteur, which 
only an Indian can assume with grace. On the 20th, addressing 
the governor, he said: " Brother— Since the peace of Greenville, 
in 1795, w^as made, you have killed some of the Shawnees, Win- 
nebagoes, Delawares and Miamis, and you have taken our lands 
from us, and I do not see how we can remain at peace with you 
if \^ou continue to do so. You try to force the red people to do 
some injury. It is you that are pushing them on to do mischief. 
You wish to prevent the Indians to do as we "wish them, to unite 
and let them consider their lands as the common property of the 
whole. You take tribes aside and advise them not to come into 
this measure. The reason I tell 3'ou this is, you want, by your 
distinctions of Indian tribes, in allotting to each a particular tract, 
to make them to war with each other. You never see an Indian 
endeavor to make the white people do so. You are continuallv 
driving the red people; when at last you will drive them onto the 
great lake, wdien they can't either stand or work. Since my resi- 
dence at Tippecanoe, we have endeavored to level all distinctions 
— to destroy village chiefs, by whom all mischief is done. It is 
they who sell our lands to Americans. Brother, tliis land that 
was sold, and the goods that were given for it, was only done by 
a few. The treatv was afterward l)rouffht here and the Weas were 



2-tr> Rage of Tecumseh. 

induced to give their consent, because of their small niimlDers. 
The treaty of Fort AVayne was made through tlie threats of Win- 
amac, but in future we are prepared to punish those who may 
propose to sell land. If you continue to purchase of them, it will 
make war among the ditierent tribes, and at last I do not know 
what will be the consequence among the white people. Brother, 
I wish you would take pity on the red people and do what I have 
requested. If you will not give up the land, and do cross the 
boundary of your present settlement, it will be very hard andj^ro- 
duce great trouble among us. How can we have confidence in 
the white people? When Jesus Christ came upon the earth 3'ou 
killed him and nailed him on a cross. You tliought he was dead, 
but you were mistaken. You have Shakers among you, and you 
laugh and make light of their worship. Everything I have said 
to you is the truth. The great spirit has inspired me. If you 
think proper to give us any presents, and we can be convinced 
that they are gjiven through friendship alone, we will accept 
them." * 

To this speech Harrison replied, by contrasting the conduct of 
the United States towards the Indians with that of other civil- 
ized nations towards savages within their jurisdiction, and draw- 
ing a comparison favorable to the United States. This stung 
Tecumseh to the quick, and he leaped to his feet from the ground 
where he was reposing, and with violent gesticulation declared that 
both Governor Harrison and the United States had cheated the 
Indians. A number of his party sharing his feelings of resent- 
ment, sprang to his side, apparently ready to attack the governor 
and his party on the spot. General Gibson, who was then secre- 
tary of the Territory, instantly brought twelve men armed with 
sabres to the front, while Harrison himself firmly grasped the 
hilt of his sword and boldly confronted the angry chief and hi& 
party, whose war clubs, tomahawks and spears flashed defiance. 
Kg blow was struck, but Harrison reproached Tecumseh for his 
conduct, and requested him instantly to depart to his camp, say- 
ing at the same time, he would send his speech to his tribe in 
written form. The next morning Tecumseh made apologies for 
his hasty ebullition of fury, and begged another interview with 
Harrison. It was granted, and Tecumseh by his respectful de- 
meanor, made ample amends for his misconduct the day before. 

Nothing was settled by the interview, however, but at the close 
of the council Tecumseh hoped that the Great Spirit would put 
sense enough into the head of the President to restore the lands 
in question to the Indians, and took his departure, after saying 
with emphasis to Harrison: " He may sit in his own town and 

* This report of Tecumseh "s speech is but an extract embodying his strong 
points. 



Tecumseh Seeks Alliance from the Southern Tribes. 247 

drink his wine, while 3^011 and I will have to iio;ht it out." The 
next year (1811), on the 24:th of June, Governor Harrison sent Cap- 
tain Wilson to confer with Tecumseh at Prophetstown, for the pur- 
pose of conciliating the still dissatisfied chief. Tecumseh received 
him with great courtesy, but eloquently expatiated on the causes of 
which the Indians complained, and promised to come again to Vin- 
cennes to confer with Governor Harrison in the matter. On the 
27th of July following he came, attended by 300 of his men. 
There were then 750 militia ready for duty in Yincennes, and these 
were placed under arms ready for an emergency. Of course the 
interview settled nothing, for it was absurd to suppose the land 
that had been purchased of single tribes could ever be restored 
to the Indians, and nothing shoi*t of this would satisfy Tecumseh. 

Soon after this conference ended, Tecumseh, with twenty 
attendants, started for the distant country of the Chickasaws, 
Creeks and Choctaws, for the purpose" of securing their alliance 
to his cause in a conflict which he felt was pending. Meantime, 
the English agents among the Indians were generous in the dis- 
tribution of presents amoiig them. There was a belligerent feel- 
ing at that time between the English and American people, not 
only on account of old scores, but new issues had come between 
the two nations, brought into being by what was called the 
Continental System in Europe, which will be explained in the 
next chapter, and its effects were felt wherever the English name 
was known, even to the extreme limits of the frontiers of civiliza- 
tion in the forests of America, where the unambitious native, 
gaunt with hunger and offensive with dirt, but loyal to the 
ensign of St. George, was ready to take the war-path for his 
Eno^lish father. There was a reason for this. The English had 
everything to hope for in his friendship and nothing to lose. 

The Americans could gain nothing by his friendship, but his 
enmity would be a pretext by which to deprive him of the soil. 
Under this duress, the unhappy red men were between two fires, 
fighting the battles of the English in the front, only to be for- 
saken in the distribution of victory's spoils, whichever way the 
cause went. While the issue was maturing- between the Eno-lish 
and Americans, by the indiscretions of the Prophet, during 
Tecumseh's absence to bring allies to his cause, the inevitable 
outbreak came with the Indians. On the 17th of July, 1811, the 
President authorized Harrison to summon to his aid the fourth 
regiment of infantry, under command of Col. Boyd. On the 
26th of September the army took up its march toward Prophets- 
town, the headquarters of the Prophet. Having marched sixty- 
five miles up the Wabash, Fort Harrison was built on the 5th of 
October. On the 31st, the mouth of the Vermillion river was 



248 Battle of Tippecanoe. 

reached, where a block-liouse was built for the protection of the 
baggage. 

Agair resuming liis march on the night of the 6th of N^ovem- 
ber, he arrived at Tippecanoe, which was situated about seven 
miles northwest of the present citv of Lafayette. Here Harrison 
was met by a delegation from the camp of the Prophet, which 
was but a short distance away, where a thousand braves were as- 
sembled, ready to make a dash at the invaders as soon as a favor- 
able moment came. All hostile intentions, however, were 
disavowed on both sides, but Harrison ordered his men to encamp 
that night in order of battle, with their clothes on and their arms 
by their side, and in case of an attack, the outermost lines were 
ordered to maintain their ground till reinforced. At the Indian 
camp all was silent as the grave. Tecum.seh was in the far dis- 
tant south, in the country of the Cherokees, and had given his 
brother, the Prophet, orders not to commence hostilities; but in 
his rashness he disregarded them, and laid his plans to attack 
Harrison the next morning. Before the dawn of day a heavy 
body of Indians made a dash on the left flank of the Americans. 
The sentinels were driven in, and the conflict was carried into 
the very camp of the invaders. In a few minutes the whole 
front, both flanks, and even the rear, were engaged. 

The camp-flres still lit up the grounds, tor daylight had not 
yet come to the relief of the Americans, and tlie Indians poured 
a destructive fire into their ranks from a covert of darkness. 
"With admirable coolness, Harrison ordered the fires extinguished, 
which placed the combattants on equal terras. Now, hand-to- 
hand encounters, and random shots through the outer darkness, 
amidst a tumult of yells, raged along the whole line till day- 
light. A furious charge was then made upon the Indians. They 
received it with admirable courage at first, but finally fled to au 
adjacent swamp, where Harrison did not deem it prudent to fol- 
low them. 

The American loss was 37 killed and 151 wounded; the loss 
of the Indians was somewhat smaller. 

Tecumsch, M'ith a keen insight into the future, had not intended 
to precipitate the conflict with the Americans till his English 
friends were ready to render him more substantial aid, and when 
he returned liome and learned that the Prophet had disobeyed 
his orders by making the first attack, and of the disastrous 
results of it, his passions rose to a dangerous pitch, and it was 
with difiiculty he could be restrained I'rom killing him on the 
spot. After the battle, the Indian stores of corn, etc., at Pro- 
plietstown wei-e destroyed. The Prophet lost his ])restige and 
nearly all the diflerent tril)es t)f Indians were inclined towards 
peace. Tecumseh was forced into a lukewarm acquiescence in 



Illinois Territory Organized. . 249 

this state of things amona^ his people, but instead of their talcing 
part in the treaty of peace wliich follovred, went to Maiden, in 
Canada, to take council with his British friends, but the end was 
not yet. The Tippecanoe canipaign was a great damage to the 
Indian cause, esi)cci!dly as its result was disastrous to thera, and 
proved an eifectnal barrier to the Indian confederacy which 
Tecumseh aimed at with laudable ambition, as the oidy means 
by which his peojile could be preserved. The news of the battle 
spreading through the country came to the ears of John Kinzie, 
at Charme's trading post (Ypsilanti), Mich. He was on his way 
to Detroit, but apprehensive of a general uprising among the 
Indians, he hastened home to look to the safety of his family, by 
further strengthening the chain of friendship with the Potta- 
watoniies.* 

While the events of the late campaign had been maturing to 
the temporary is^'ne at Tippecanoe, settlements had been pro- 
gressing with but little interruption, for the late battle was a 
sudden spasm of fu-oclty, which the Pj'ophet had prematurely 
thrust into the arena, before Tecumseh's favorite plan of an Indian 
confederacy had been executed, and no warning against border 
war had come to the ears of emigrants. Nor had legislation 
susjicnded its progressive action respecting the political progress 
of the Western territory, Congress having, on February 3d. 18D9, 
■constituted the new Territory of Illinois. On the east it was 
bounded by the Wabash river from its mouth to Vincennes, 
thence by a line due north to the Canada line (which line, of 
course, would cross lake Michigan lengthwise), on the north by 
the British Possessions, on the west by the Mississippi river, and 
on the south by the Ohio, between the mouth of the Wabash and 
the junction of the Ohio with tlie Mississippi. 

ISfinian Edwards was transferred from the post of Chief Jus- 
tice of Kv ::ucky to the Governor's chair of the new Territory, 
and ^ifatliauiel Pope, wliose home was already at Kaskaskia, was 
appointed Secretary by President Madison. Early in March Mr. 
Pope organized the Territory, and the following June, on the 
11th, Mr. Edwards took his seat as governor at Ivaskaskia. The 
code of Indiana Territory, under which the inhabitants had lived 
for the eight years previous, was at lirst adopted, l)ut soon after- 
wards detailed penalties were athxed for the punishment of 
every possible form of offense, some of which have long since 
been repealed as unwarrantable. St. Clair and Randolph were 
the first two counties organized. Their limits can hardly bo 
given, in the great waste of unsettled domain over which the 
jurisdiction of Illinois then extended. 

*Wabun, p. 217. 



250 Great Earthquake. 

The extreme soullieni portions of tlie State were sparsely 
sprinkled over witli new settlements from Yirg-inia and Ken- 
tucky. St. Louis was a tln-iving town, largely composed of 
French fur traders. Fort Madison had been built on the west 
bank of the Mississippi, where the city of the same name now 
stands in Iowa. Prairie Du Chien, then a tlirifty trading post, 
at the month of the Wisconsin river, Avas within the jurisdiction 
of the new territory, as well as La Pointe and Green Bay, while 
Chicago was only known as an Indian portage, and the locality 
of a weakly garrisoned fort. 

At Peoria was a French village, established after a hyatus of 
many years since LaSalle first built Fort Crevecoenr there. 

This second founding was of an uncei-taisi date, but it was 
many years subsequent to the settlement of the French villages 
of Kaskaskia and Cahokia. 

Besides the battle of Tippecanoe, three remnrkable events oc- 
curred during the year 1811 in the northwest. A severe frost 
almost entirely destroyed the com crop. The first steamboat 
that ever made its appearance on Western w:'.ters made a trip 
from Pittsbnrgli, where she was built, to New Orleans ; and a 
violent earthquake was felt throughout the entire country. It 
took place in December, and continued several days in a succes- 
sion of violent shocks of the ground, lashing the forest trees 
against each otlier with fearful violence. At times, through 
opening fissures in the ground, steam hissed out like the escape- 
ment of pent up and heated vapors, during which phenomenon 
loud reports, like the muffled sounds of thunder, continued to 
peal forth as if from an invisible source. It was felt the severest 
at New Madrid, on the Mississippi, where a large area of land 
sunk into the bowels of the earth, and, to fill the chasm, the Mis- 
sissippi from below flowed backwards for some hours. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

Jay's treaty of 1794 — Its Beneficial Effects — Decrees of Berlin 
and Milan — Retaliatory English Orders— The Continental 
System — America Victimised hy it — The Embargo and non- 
Intercourse Acts — Fruitless Negotiation between England 
and the United States — Complications with France — The 
French Decrees Revoked — The United States Declare War 
Against England — The British on the Lakes — General Hull 
Reaches Detroit with an Army — Crosses into Canada — Re- 
connoisance of Colonel Cass — First Hostile Shot in the War 
0/I8I2 — General Hull Reitorns to Detroit — Michiliinacinac 
Taken hy the English — Tecumseh in the British Service — 
Indian Raid on Lees Place — Panic at Clncago— General 
Hull at Detroit — He Crosses the River into Canada — His 
Perplexities — His Surrender. 

Jay's treaty of 1794 has already been alluded to. A brief 
detail of the conditions Mdiich brought it into being from the 
master mind that took within its grasp those conditions, and first 
caused the rights of America, as a member of the family of 
nations, to be acknowledged by England, forms a bright page in 
American history, and inasmuch as the most vital part of tliese 
conditions grew into being in the Northwest, a record of them 
will here be made. 

After the peace of 1783, which guaranteed to us simple inde- 
pendence only, the United States lonnd themselves but a loosely 
bound confederacy of thirteen colonies, without even a constitu- 
tion. The English court did not even honor us with a minister 
till 1789, and all the while excluded our commerce from all their 
colonial ports, thereby forcing American merchants to trade 
largely through English channels, under the monopolizing system 
that she had established by means of her armament on tiie liigh 
seas, directed by her laws of trade.* Her vessels of war seemed 

* In 1744, England laid the foundation for her unexampled prosperity as a 
trading nation by establishing a maxim, monopolizing all the trade of her col- 
onies to herself. In 1760, the machinery for enforcing these conditions became 
still more perfect, and the United States were up to 1794, circumscribed within, 
•its toils. 



252 Decrees of Berlin and Milan, 

almost omnipresent. Tliey swept the American lakes and con- 
stantly supplied their forts, then lield on American soil, and from 
tliese forts they supplied the Indians with all the material they 
wanted wherewith to make the l)order a scene of strife and blood- 
shed. This aroused the indignation of the Western people in 
particular, and embittered the whole nation against England. 
Still war was impossible, for we had no means out of which to 
establisli it. Under these circumstances, even while struggling 
to allay dissentions at home consequent upon uniting under a 
constitution and contending against poverty and an onerous 
public debt, Washington impressed with the necessity of a treaty 
to establish our commercial relations on a firmer and more profit- 
able basis, selected Mr. Jay as the fittest one to negotiate it. 

His task was a difficult one. As to any commei'cial relations, 
the English already had everything as they wanted it, and were 
reluctant to enter into any obligations which could bring noth- 
ing to tliem. 

But Mr. Jay wa8 equal to the emergency. His accomplish- 
ments challenged the respect of the English minister, and secured 
the signing of his famous treaty of 1794, by which American 
vessels were first allowed to trade direct with the East Indies and 
other British dependencies. This was all that could be ex])ected 
in a pecuniary way. Next came the points of honor, so vital to 
the western spirit of independence which was that the English 
should relinquish the western posts. This point they also con- 
ceded on the terms stated in a' previous chapter, and the treaty 
was signed in London, November 19th, 1794, and promptly rati- 
fied by Washington. A lucrative trade immediately sprung up 
as a consequence of the treaty, and continued till the sanguinary 
character which the war between England and France afterwards 
assumed, transcended the comity of nations, and swej^t away not 
only all treaty rights, but the natural rights of neutrals. 

Eleven years after Jay's treaty, 1805, England destroyed the 
French fleet at Trafalgar, after which all opposition to her on the 
ocean vanished — not a French vessel daring to come within the 
i-each of her guns. Meantime, the eyes of the world turned to- 
wards the conquests of Napoleon on the land. The victories of 
Austerlitz and Jena made him master of Southen Europe, and 
from Berlin, the capital of Prussia, in November, 1806, he issued 
decrees, followed by the decrees of Milan early the next year, 
the objects of which were to undermine the power of England. 
These decrees made not only British vessels and goods liable to 
confiscation in the ports of France and her allies, but, also, the 
ships and goods of neutrals boun<l for English ports. 

To counteract the effect of this blow aimed at the vital foun- 
tains of her prosperity, England issued in November, 1807, 



The Embargo and Non- Intercourse Acts. 253 

plenary orders for the confiscntion of ships and goods bound for 
the ports of France and her allies, from wherever they mi^lit 
come; and her ability to execute these orders made them effec- 
tive, and ultimately recoiled with force against Napoleon, the 
prime mover in this attempt to light natural destiny. The 
United States was victimized by the decrees of both nations, par- 
ticularly by the English orders, among which were the following: 

" All trade directly from America to every port and country 
in Europe, at war with Great Britain, is totally ]n-ohibited. All 
articles, whether -^f domestic or colonial produce exported by 
America to Europe, must be landed in England, from whence it 
is intended to permit their re-exportation under such regulations 
as may hereafter be determined." Snch was the Continental 
System. It embraced within its toils an issue, vital to the inter- 
ests of any part of the world that wished to trade with England 
or France, or their allies, and with dogged resolution these Ti- 
tanic powers Avatched both sea and land to augment the force of 
war by their extreme as well as novel measures. 

Smarting under its effects, the United States dipped her oar 
into the great sea of hostile diplomacy, by passing the Embargo 
Act of December, 1807, and the Non-intercourse Act of March, 
1809. These acts, together with certain municipal regulations 
which preceded them, were designed, ffrst to prohibit certain 
articles of foreign importation, and finally to cut oft' all exporta- 
tion to England and France, by withdrawing Amei-ican com- 
merce from those countries, under an impression that they could 
not carry on their wars without our bread supplies, and would as 
a measure of compromise, modity their indiscriminate laws 
against trade so as to admit our vessels to their ports. It required 
no small measure of sacrifice to take these steps. The people 
had been enriching themselves out of the misfortunes of Europe 
in their disuse of the plow, and sanguinary practise of the 
sword, but now this source of wealth was entirely cut oft" by 
their own acts, which, instead of improving their condition, 
made it worse. The resentment of France was aroused, and the 
April following the Eml)argo Act she passed the decrees of Bay- 
onne, and later those of Rambouillet, by which every American 
vessel in French ports were lawful prizes. The apology for this 
act was, that any American vessels in their ports were there in 
violation of the Embargo Act, and consequently were British 
property (a deduction that hung on an uncertain contingency, 
and exhibited more defiance than discretion). 

England, ai-med with iron-clad dignity, took but little notice 
of these retaliatory measures of the United States, but continued 
her right of search and its consequent impressment of American 
seamen into her service, a very questionable prerogative that she 



254 Fruitless Negotiation for Commercial liights. 

liad never abandoned since our colonial vassalage, if lier necessities 
required its practice. The collosal proportions wliicli the war 
between England and France had now assumed, by wliich they 
were daily weakening each other, may have extended the limit of 
American forbearance to declare war ; instead of doing which she 
made an offer to England to rescind her embargo aiid non-inter- 
course acts, if she, England, would abolish her orders of 1807. 

This offer England rejected, on the ground that she would not 
accept a favor from America which might benefit France. 

Under this duress the United States were placed in a position 
in which they must either bear their grievances with patience, or 
commit the absurdity of declaring war against two nations at war 
with each other. The following abstract of a report made to the 
House of Representatives, in November, 1809, will show the com- 
plex attitude of our grievances wliich had thus far set negotiation 
at defiance : 

"The ao-orressions of England and France, affecting almost the 
whole of our commerce, are no less than a war M-aged bv both 
nations against our tradino; interests. It is evident that the onlv 
effectual way of resistance is war. A permanent suspension of 
■commerce, after repeated and unavailing efforts to obtain peace, 
would not properly be resistance. It would be withdrawing from 
the contest and abandoning an indisputable right to navigate the 
ocean. The present unsettled state of the world, the extraordi- 
nary situation in which the United States are placed, and the 
necessity, if war be resorted to, of making it against the two 
most powerful nations of the world, are the causes of hesitation."' 
Matters remained in these phases of discontent till 1810, up to 
which time several years of fruitless diplomacy had been wasted 
in vain attempts to restore American commerce to its natural 
rights in the family of nations. Two different compromises, al- 
most concluded between England and the United States, had been 
broken off, one by the President of the United States, because it 
did not relinquish the right of search, and the other by the Eng- 
lish King, because his Minister, Mr. Erskine, had exceeded his 
instructions as to its terms. Mr. Jefi'erson, then President, drew 
upon himself much censure from the New England States for" 

*Jefferson's mission to France terminating in 1789, had well nigh turned his 
brain, and made it impossible for him to look with candor upon the issue that 
then hung over the country — -so prejudiced was he in favor of the extreme 
rights of man, as promulgated by the Revolutionary spirit of France in that 
eventful period. This accounts for his rejection of the compromise of England 
without consulting the senate. Naturally inclined to espouse the cause of the 
people and gain popular applause, he became the champion of Radical democ- 
racy in America, and accused Washington, Hamilton, John Adams, and the 
-whole body of Federalists, of being Anglo- Monarchic Aristocrats — friends of 
England and enemies of France in their contest. See his letter to Mazzei, 
dated Monticello, April 24th, 1796. It is publislied officially in the proceedings 
of the Hartford Convention. — [Autho 



Repeal of The French Decrees. 255 

rejecting this compromise (the former) without allowing it to 
come before the Senate, whieli was then in session. Its provis- 
ions conceded all the United States asked for except the clause as 
to impressment, and on this ])oint the British Government had 
given Mr. Monroe and Mr. Pinkney, onr Peace Comissioners, 
informal assurance that its practice should be abandoned. 

This satisfied the IS^ew Eno^land mind, which was readv to seize 
upon any plausible pretext as a basis of peace by which to bridge 
over the war spirit of the times till more considerate counsels 
■could be listened to. 

Pending this turmoil, the grip of Napoleon's decrees which 
had fastened upon all the nations of Europe, except Turkey and 
Sweden, began to weaken. English goods found their way al- 
most everywhere through clandestine channels, and it became 
evident that the Berlin and Milan decrees were a failure. As a 
proof of this, on the 5th of August, 1810, M. de Champagny, 
the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed to the Ameri-' 
can Minister in Paris to repeal the Berlin and Milan decrees, on 
the same conditions that had been proposed by the United States 
herself two years before, and also accepted on the part of the 
English Minister, but rejected by the Crown. 

These terms were substantiallj^ that all hostile legislation as to 
international trade should cease on both sides. This proposition 
was hailed with delight by Mr. Madison, who had succeeded 
Jefferson as president. 

A message was issued to take the necessary action by which 
the proposal should become a' permanent international law. But 
various complex conditions were brought to the surface by the 
British, relative to how far this comity extended to France should 
affect the interests of England. 

France meantime did repeal her obnoxious decrees, at least 
upon the contingency that the United States, after opening com- 
mercial relations with herself, should still enforce her commer- 
cial restrictions against England, unless that power should fully 
revoke her orders of 1807. Accordingly by official notice of the 
French revocation of the decrees bearing date of November 
1st, 1810 (which embodied all her offensive legislation against 
American trade), was duly sent to the United States, and pub- 
lished in the Moniteur, the official organ of the French court at 
Paris, but no notice of it was sent to the English court. Sub- 
sequently, some Ariierican vessels, either through ignorance 
or design, were seized as prizes by the French. From these cir- 
cumstances, and in default of tJie formality of a notice of revo- 
cation, the English insisted that the Berlin and Milan decrees 
were still in force. During the progress of these conciliatory 
overtures from the French nation, a strong appeal was made by 



256 War Declared Against England. 

the Americans to the English Court to repeal their orders of 
1807, on the ground that the French decrees had already been 
repealed. On the 30th of May, 1812, a final reply was made by 
England to this appeal, from wliicli tlie following is taken: 

'' The Berlin and Milan decrees have never been revoked. 
Some partial and insidious relaxations of tliem may have been 
made in a few instaiices, as an encouragement to America to 
adopt a system beneficial to France and injurious to Great Brit- 
ain, while the conditions on wliich alone it has been declared, 
that those decrees will ever be revoked, are here explained and 
amplified in a manner to leave no hope of Bonaparte having any 
disposition to renounce the system of injustice which he Jias 
pursued, so as to make it possible for Great Britain to give up 
those deiensive measures she has been obliged to resort to. * 
* * It is now manifest that there was never more than a con- 
ditional offer of repeal made by France, which we liad a right to 
complain tliat America should have asked us to recognize as 
absolute, and Avhich, if accepted in its extent by America, Avould 
only have formed fresh matter of complaint, and a new ground 
for declining \\e\' demands." This final reply of the English 
court was in justification of the declaration made by her the 
previous montli, as follows: " If at any time liereafter the 
Berlin and Milan decrees shall, by some authentic act of the 
French government, publicly pntinulgated, be expressly and 
unconditionally revoked, then the order in council of the 7th of 
January, 1807, shall be revoked." 

To make amends for past grievances against America, must 
have been the incentive of France in abolishinii' lier decrees, but 
it may well be doubted that England .was to share any of the 
benefits of this measure, inasmuch as the two countries were still 
at war with eacli other. That the ambiguous demeanor of 
France towards England in this afi'air gi-ew out of a desire to 
bring about a war between England and the United States, was 
evident, from the arch diplomacy which preceded it, healing, as 
it did, the difi'erences between their own nations. Meantime, 
the late official action of the English had indefinitely postponed 
the time when she would repeal her laws against the rights of 
neutrals, and notwithstanding the New England people were in 
favor of peace, the tenacity of tlie English in adhering to their 
orders turned the scale. 

The United States were now relieved from complications wnth 
France, and inasmuch as England had given no encouragement 
that her rigid restrictions on our commerce, or her unjust im- 
pressment of American seamen would be discontinued, the 
United States hesitated no longer, and declared war against Eng- 
land June 18th, 1812. 



The Issue of The War. -JbT 

That the declaration was premature, iiiasiruicli as tlie Iliiited 
States liad made no preparation for war, tlie disastrous results ot 
the first campaig-n fully proved, and yet to add to the complexity 
of our position, the declaration might have been made with equal 
propriety any time within the four years previous, l)ut for our 
complications with France. Never before in the history of en- 
lightened nations did such a juxta as well as absurd issue result 
in war. The sword was drawn to tight England under a just 
sense of resentment for gi'ievous practices that she (England) was 
willing to apologize for, as well as to discontinue, but would not 
condescend to enter into a treaty to do so. The summing up of 
the cause between the two nations centered in the following two 
points : First, as to the impressment of American seauien, which 
England gave our commissioners. Mr. Monroe and Mr. Pinckney 
assurance should be discontinued. Second, the English orders 
in council against our commerce, which England offered to re- 
voke as soon as Napoleon should revoke the decrees of Berlin 
and Milan, an act which the United States contended had already 
been executed, and which act only lacked a bit of red tape (to use 
a metaphor) to satisfy the English ministers. Ihit even this gos- 
samer fabric of formality vanished frmn the English mind five 
days after the American declaration of -wai-. at which time (the 
23d of June) the English did formally revoke the obnoxious or- 
ders, in conseqnence of which tlie Americans had drawn the 
sword. But the sword was drawn, and could not very well be 
sheathed till old scores were a veuired. Several thousand x\meri- 
can citizens, the victims of im])ressinent, were unwillingly fight- 
ing the battles of the English, whose lathers and •brothers at 
home called loudly for i-evenge, and luany a pioneer had fallen 
a victim to the scalping-knife, which had been forged on British 
anvils. The British fleet held full command of the lakes, and 
the various tribes of Indians adjacent had for years been subsi- 
dized by presents and honeyed words into friendship for them. 
It was, thei'efore, evident that along these waters the British 
were the strongest, and here the first blow was to be struck. De- 
troit was then the most important post which the AnuM'icana 
held West. General Hull, an officer of the American Bevolu- 
tion, was Governor of the Territory of Michigan, which had been 
organized in 1805, and now contained about 5,000 inhabitants, :vnd 
to him was given the command of the troops destined for defensive 
and offensive operations on the Upper Lakes. A small garrison of 
United States troojjs was stationed at Michilimacinac and one at 
Chicago, which were the extreme outposts of the Americans. 

Two months previous to the declaration of war, the President 
had ordered Governor Meigs, of Ohio, to raisc'1,000 men for tlic 
Western service. 



258 General Hull at The Maiimee Rajpids. 

This lie promptly did, and adding 300 more to the number, 
handed them over to General Hull at Dayton, with a patriotic 
speech, at the close of which the volunteers uncovered, and gave 
him six rousing clieers. 

Agreeable to his oiders, General Hull took up his march for 
Detroit at the head of his little army. The route over which he 
was to travel had already been made famous by the St. Clair and 
Wayne campaigns, the scene of whose battle-fields he passed, and 
arrived at the Rapids of the Maumee on the 30th of June, twelve 
days after the war had been declared, but of this he was igno- » 
rant. Here he rested his men, near the ruins of the old fort 
which the British had built eighteen years before, which had 
never served any pnrj^ose, but to amuse the Indians and inflame 
the resentm.ent of the Americans. The route thence to Detroit 
lay eighteen miles down the Maumee river, across the Western 
extremity of Lake Erie, and up the Detroit river. Maiden was 
then the most important post of the British on the Upper Lakes. 
Ever since they had evacuated the forts on the American side in 
1T96, it had been headquarters for the cKstribution of Indian pres- 
ents, where the Western tribes had assembled annually to receive 
their blankets, tobacco, knives, etc., and here the British had 
built a fleet of war vessels, which menaced the Americans on our 
•entire lake frontier. It was situated on the Canadian side of the 
main channel of the Detroit river, and commanded its most di- 
rect passage. As ill-fortune would have it, while resting at the 
Rapids on the 1st oi July, General Hull despatched a schooner 
and a boat to Detroit in advance of his army, which was to reach 
the place by land. On board the schooner were a few invalids, 
the hospital stores, and a trunk, containing his official papers 
from Washington. During the succeeding night the schooner 
passed the boat, leaving her behind, and kept on her course. The 
next day she entered the Detroit river, and coming in sight of 
the Hunter, an English armed brig, she was obliged to surrender. 
The boat fortunately reached her destination unobserved by the 
Eno-lish, she having by chance taken the channel of the river 
West of Boisblanc Island. The day after the schooner left the 
Rapids a messenger came to the quarters of General Hull with 
a letter, of which he was the bearer, from the Postmaster at 
Cleveland. Its contents ran as follows : " Sir : — War is de- 
clared against Great Britain. Yon will be on your gnard.' Pro- 
ceed to your post (Detroit) with all possible expedition. Make 
such arrangements for the defense of the country as in your judg- 
ment may be necessary, and wait for further orders." 

This was from the War Department at Washington, and bore 
date June 18th. Eight days previously he had received des- 
latches from the AVar Department, through a different source, 



General Hull at Detroit. 259 

iiiakino; no mention of the declaration of war, an oversiirlit on 
the part of the Secretary as inexcusable as it was mysterious. 

General Hull now made liaste to march for Detroit, and 
reached the place on tlie 7th. Here he remained till the 12tli, 
when he crossed over to the Canada shore with his whole army, 
and issued a spirited proclamation to the French subjects of 
Oreat Britain, who lived in the country, many of whom gave in 
their allegiance to his standard. " On to Maiden ! " was now the 
watchword that prevailed in his army, hut the extreme caution 
of the commanding General forbade this, especially as his last in- 
structions were to go to Detroit, and wait orders. On the 15th, 
however, orders reached him from Washinuton to take the of- 
fensive. A reconnoisance of 280 men, under command of Col. 
Cass, was sent towards the place. Five miles from it they en- 
countered an outpost of the enemy guarding a bridge, crossing 
Duck Creek, and here the war of 1812 began in a spirited skirm- 
ish, in which some acconnts state that ten Britishers were killed. 
A doubtful assertion that a handful of picket men should have 
left that many dead on the ground before falling back from 
before a snrperior force. 

General Isaac Brock was Governor of Upper Canada at this 
time, whose dashing activity proved to be more than a match for 
General Hull's excessive caution. 

As soon as war had been declared, he planned out his campaign, 
and Michilimacinac was the first place to be attacked. At the 
foot of the rapids of the St. Marys, on the Canadian side, forty- 
five miles north of the place, was the British post of St. Joseph, 
garrisoned by two companies of Canadians and a few British 
regulars. Capt. Roberts, who held command of this post, was 
the one to whom the execution of the scheme had been confided. 
Besides his own entire command, he enlisted in his ranks all the 
loose material which the English Fur Company could bring to his 
service, and in order to insure success beyond a doubt, he ac- 
cepted the service of 600 Indians from his immediate neighbor- 
hood. Everything being in readiness on the 16th of July, his 
forces embarked in their batteaux, crossed the strait, and 
reached the Island of Michilimacinac before daybreak. The fort 
stood on a bluff rock, on the southeast shore, nearly two hundred 
■feet above the sparkling waters that chafed, and foamed about its 
base. The original forest with which the island had been cov- 
ered had been cut down for fuel, and in its place a thicket of 
second growtli covered the ground. At nine o'clock Lieut. P. 
Hanks, the commander of the fort, beheld with astonishment 
.such formidable numbers of British taking position on a rocky 
height, within cannon shot of his fort, while the wooded 
g ro u n d s. ar o u n d were al i v e vv i th I n d i an s. 



260 Mlchillinacinac Tal'en hy The British. 

The o-ans of the fort were sliotteJ, and overvthiiio; inade readv^ 
for a desperate defense by the coiniiuindiiii^ otiicer, who all the 
while was at a loss to account for the hostile demonstrations; but 
at half-past eleven o'clock the mystery was explained by a nies-: 
saire under a flaij of truce. " War had been deehired," said, the 
unexpected visitor, and the surrender of the fort and island was^ 
demanded. To defend it would have been a vaiu attempt, and 
the command was reluctantly complied with, and his entire 
force (57 men), includin»2^ officers, became war prisoners. The 
village on the island numbered ov^er oOO, all but three or four of 
whom were Canadians or half breeds, who felt quite at home under 
a British flag, as well as the countless hordes of Indians, who 
gathered about the place every summer to sell their winters 
catch of furs, enjoy the salubrious air, and eat the easily caught 
fish. 

Michilimacinac was then regarded as the most important post 
in the northwest, except Detroit. It had an annual export trade 
of furs, amounting to $24:0,000, and the custom house duties 
on imports were about $50,000 ])er annum. This successful 
opening of the war, on the part of the British, fired the heart of 
the Indians, andnuide them flock to the standard of their British 
father. 

Tecnmscli was alreadv in the field, elevated to the rank of a 
Brigadier General, and while the master mind of General Brock, 
assisted by the masterly activity of Tecumseh, are circumventing 
the tactics of (4eneral Hull, let us turn our attention to Fort 
Dearborn, at Chicago, the outermost ])0st of the Americans. 

Its garrison had been increased by the insignificant reinforce- 
ment of twelve militia, which made in all sixty-six soldiers. The 
original otlicors in command had retired the year before, and in 
their place stood Captain Ileald, who had the chief command, 
and under him was Lieut. Helm, the same who had recently 
married the step-daughter of Jdhii Kinzi<'. Ensign George lionan 
and Dr. Yan Voorhees, the surgeon. The armament of the fort 
consisted of three cannon, and small arms for the soldiers. The 
defenses were quite sufficient to hold the Indians at bay, whose 
mode of warfare was illy adapted to a seige, but in the general 
trepidation which prevailed among the weak garrison, it was pro- 
posed to make the most of every av^ailable means in their power, 
in case of an attack, and to this end the agency house outside the 
palisade, was to be manned with a few sharp-shooters, to minister 
to the defenses of the fort, 

Mr. Kinzie, during his eight years' residence in the place, for- 
tunately had won the confidence and esteem of the Indians by 
those rare gifts which transcend the angry passions of war, even 
in the savage breast. And to him all eyes turned for counsel 



Chicago in IS 12. • 201 

^vhen the war-wlioop rana: through the wilderness, backed by the 
jiower of England. Of his children, the oldest was John II.,"then 
a lad of eight years, born in Canada, opposite Detroit, but a X^iw 
months before his parents emigrated to Chicago, in 1804. 

lie was tlie first prominent resident of Chicago from infancy, 
-[ust Avest of Mr. Ivinzie's house was tiie humble habitation of 
Oiiliniette, a French laborer in his employ, who like nniny of 
his countrymen before him, had married an Indian lassie, and 
the union had been blessed with the usual number of children. 
About eighty rods to the west, on the same side of the riyer, was 
the residence of Mr. Burns, Avhose family consisted of a ^yife aiid 
■children. Besides these were a few families of half breeds, " the 
location of whose residences, or perliaps camps, is not known," 
says Mrs. John li. Xinzie, in Wabun. In the fort dwelt the fam- 
ilies of Captain Ileald, Lieut. Helm and Sargeant Holt, whose 
wives were destined to become heroines of history, and to their 
number may be added Mrs. Bisson, sister of Oiilimette's wife 
and Mrs. Ccu-bin, wife of a soldier. 

Four miles from Fort Dearborn, up the south brancli of the 
Cliicago riyer, liyed a Mr. White, as a tenant on a farm known 
by the name of Lee's place. In his employ were three French- 
:men, whose business was to sow, plow and reap, depending on a 
•Chicago market for a sale of their products. This place, then a 
loneseme habitation, remote from the incipient town, is now the 
K-enterof the din of Chicago machinery for manufacturing the 
wooden luxuries of the age. 

At this time Illinois had been under the forms of a territorial 
government for three years— Ninian Edwards, governor, with 
Kaskaskia the capital. Camp Russell, the present seat of 
Edwardsville, in Madison County, was the northern limits of the 
settled portion of the territory, except Peoria, whei-e a few French 
families lived, over whom he held no jurisdiction, and the Fort 
at Chicago, which was under United States authority. Around 
the latter the Pottowattomies roamed lords of the soil, accord- 
ing to Judge Caton's history of tliis tribe. 

This was a paj^er i-ead before the Chicago Historical Society in 
1870, and afterwards published by Fergus, in 1876, the data for 
which was received from one of their oldest chiefs. Their hunt- 
ing grounds were limited on the south by Peoria Lake, and on 
thewest by Ptock Puver. Since the days" of the great Pontiac, ■ 
their alliance with his tribe, the Ottawas", had been^cemented into ^' 
a chain of friendship strong and enduring ; both had ever been 
active allies of the French since 1673, as appears from contern- 
jK.rary history, and both were unrelenting foes to the English 
< tiring the long and bloody French and Indian war, and Pon- 
liac's Avar which followed, a ])eriod extending from 1755 to 1764; 



262 The Pottawatomies. 

and when their beloved cliief Pontiac was basely murdered bj an 
Illinois, both of these tribes took sunimarj vengeance on the 
whole Illinois tribe, and at Starved Rock slaucditered the last rem- 
nant of them, except eleven warriors, who ned under cover of 
darkness to St. Louis. And this was the victory which gave the 
Pottaw^attomies so much ascendancy in noi'tlieastern Illinois,* 

But since the period of French occupation, the fortunes of the 
Indians had been changed. Their loving French brothers had 
been driven out of the country, and the British who drove 
them out were now their own allies, on whom they depend- 
ed to beat back the advancing hosts of Anglo Americans who- 
wererapidly'encroaching on their hunting-grounds. The Potto- 
wattomies had not yet felt the weight of "iheir power, but the 
Shawanees had, and through the earnest solicitation of Tecum- 
seh, who with far-seeing vision comprehended the situation, some 
of the Pottowattomies had yielded to his seductive eloquence,, 
joined his standard, and fought with the Prophet the year before, 
at the battle of Tippecanoe. Even then Tecumseh had laid his- 
plans to destroy Fort Dearborn,f but the defeat of his braves at 
that disastrous conflict, arrested the execution of their plans, until 
the war of 1812 had again revived them on a far m-ander scale. 

In his erratic wanderings to gain allies for the purpose of driv- 
ing the white settlers east of the Ohio river,- he had visited the 
AVinnebagoes, of Pock river, as well as all the other tribes adja- 
cent, and poured out his tales of grief to them against his white 
neighbors. 

While it is not to be presumed that he had won them all over 
to participate in his unrelenting hostility to the Americans, it is 
evident that some of the indiscrete and inflammable material 
among them had been brought to the surface, an instance of 
which was shown one day when some Indians of the Calumet 
had come to Fort Dearborn on business. Seeing Mrs. Ileald and 
Mrs. Helm playing at a game, one of the swarthy visitors, in an 
unguarded moment said to the interpreter, " The white chiefs- 
wives are amusing themselves very much ; it will not be long 
before they are hoeing in our corntields !" A few weeks latter 
this proved to be more than an idle threat, when, owing to- 
Tecumseh's influence, or some other reason which never can be 
brought to light, the Winnebagoes made a raid on the settlers 
immediately adjacent to Fort Dearborn, which contemplated the 
killing of every one found outside of its palisades. 

Their plan was to begin at the outermost house and kill all as 
they went along. This was Lee's place, and here the work began 

* Caton's Address. 

fBrown's History of Illinois, page 305. . . 



Indian Bald on Lee's Place. 263 

on the 7tli of April. It was late in the afternoon when a party 
often or twelve Indians entered the house and seated themselves 
with the nsnal importnnity of Indian manners. 

Their appearance, however, aroused the suspicions of the in- 
mates, and two of them, under pretense of feeding the cattle from 
some hay-stacks across the river, ferried over in a hoat, but in- 
stead of coming back as they had promised, betook themselves to 
the skirt of timber which fringed the river, and made all speed 
towards the fort. Ere they had proceeded far, the report of two 
guns confirmed their suspicions against the strange party of 
Indians who had come so suddenly upon them, and. they contin- 
ued their flight in breathless haste, until the river opposite the 
house of Bnrns was reached. The alarm was given by calling 
loudl}' across to warn the inmates of danger, and the two fugitives 
continued their flight to the fort. Consternation now filled the 
liousehold of Burns. The mother laid on her couch, with her 
babe less tlian a day old, and Mrs. John Kinzie sat by her side, 
attending to her wants, with the tenderness that mothers can 
best feel on such occasions. But now the appalling news just 
received turned her thoughts away from Mrs. Burns and the 
little nursling beside her, to her own children at home, and she 
flew thither with the speed that terror lent to her limbs. Rush- 
ing in, she cried out, '■'•The Indians! The Indians! killing and 
scalping." Mr. Kinzie dropped his violin, with which he was 
amusing the children, and the amateur quadrille in which they 
were engaged, changed into preparations for flight; all rushed 
into two boats, which lay moored on the brink of the river, 
and in a few minutes were safely across, and inside the walls of 
Fort Dearborn. 

Burns' family were not yet rescued, and who would undertake 
the mission, which the terrified messengers had made to appear 
so dangerous? Ensign Ronan was the man, and leaping into a 
boat, with six soldiers equally brave, pulled up the river to 
Burns', and carried the mother, and her babe on her bed on board, 
and these, with the rest of the family, were soon safely landed 
inside the fort. 

The afternoon previous, a party of seven soldiers had obtained 
leave to row up the south branch to its head waters, for the pur- 
pose of fishing. Night had now come, but they had not yet re- 
turned. A gun was fired as a signal of danger, hearing which 
the party quit their sport, and pulled silently down the river. 
Arriving at Lee's place, they landed to rescue the inmates. Ap- 
proaching the house by the light of a torch, a dead body was dis- 
covered, beside which laid a faithful dog. With increased haste 
the_y retreated, and now silently continued their way down the 
stream, and reached the fort at 11 o'clock at night. Early the 



264 Indecision of General Hull. 

next morning scouts were promptly sent to the scene. The dead 
body of the man already discovered, proved to be one of the 
Frenchmen in the employ of Mr. White; his dog still laid by his 
side, in mournful silence ; and but a few paces from it was dis- 
covered the dead body of Mr. White. Both the murdered men 
were taken to the fort, and buried just outside the palisade. Be- 
sides the families from outside the fort, now safely quartered 
within its protection, were some families- of half-breeds, 
and a few discharged soldiers. These took refuge in the 
Agencv house. For extra protection they planked up the two 
verandas with which the building was furnished (more for comfort 
than elegance), and pierced the outer wall thus made with port- 
lioles. 

Inside the fort was an ample store of provisions, among which 
such questionable luxuries as spiritous liquors had not been for- 
iiotten, and everything was in readiness for a seige. An order 
was issued to prevent any citizen or soldier from leaving without 
a guard, and a line of pickets was placed around the premises at 
night. In a few nights a small party of Indians were descried 
creeping stealthily through the pasture grounds adjoining the fort, 
like a group of thugs. They were immediately fired upon, not only 
by the patrolmen, but by the sentinel from the block-house, and 
one of their number returned the fire by hurling back his hatchet 
at the patrolman's head. It missed it, however, and spent its 
force against a wheel of a wagon. The next morning the leveled 
grass stained with blood where his victim fell, proved the steady 
aim of the sentinel. Soon afterwards, another visitation was 
made of a similar character, probably for the purpose of stealing 
horses from a stable outside the fort. But instead of finding 
horses, some sheep had taken refuge within its treacherous walls 
and became victims to the rage of the disappointed sjieaks. The 
innocent animals were all stabbed as if they had been so many 
hyenas. Scouts were sent in pursuit of the miscreants who per- 
petrated the cruelty, but they could not be overtaken. In a i<d\^ 
weeks the effect of these alarms passed away, the social circle 
of Ft. Dearborn resumed its composure. The Pottawattomies 
came and went as ever, but under a masked disguise of afriend- 
t-hip ready to be thrown off at the most opportune occasion. 

Let us now turn our attention again to Detroit, the central 
base of military movements on the upper lakes. Here we find 
General Hull encamped on British soil, across the river oj^posite 
Detroit, evidently under the painfully contending emotions of 
prudence and activity, with the former in the ascendant. But 
while this fatal paralysis had taken possess. .>n of him, the enemy 
were acting with a promptness seldom equalled in military an- 
nals, and, it may with truth be said, a baste which would havp 



A Treacherous Armistice. 265 

"been fetal to them liad not their antaojonists (the Americans) 
been actin^; on the other extreme. In default of positive orders 
from the AVar Department to take the offensive, General Hull 
had at first hesitated to march a<^ainst Maiden, and v^dien such 
orders came, so much time -was consumed in preparation for the 
enterprise, that General Proctor, by order of Sir George Prevost, 
(the Governor-General of Canada) had reinforced the place with 
an Eiiu:;lisli regiment before General Hull was ready to march 
against it. 

Tliis British reinforcement of Maiden was effected on the 29th 
■of July, and while it added to the perplexities of General Hull, 
he still looked for assistance from two different quarters which 
might exti-icate him from his perils, and place him in an invul- 
nerable position. Governor Meigs, of Ohio, had been ordered 
to send a supply of provisions to liim under a military escort, 
commanded by Captain Brush, which was now (m its way, but the 
most important assistance which he expected was looked for 
througli au attack against the enem}' in another quarter, more 
vital to them, and which should divide their force and prevent 
the whole military weiijht of Canada from concentrating on De- 
troit. For this purpose. General Dearborn had been ordered to 
invade Canada from Niagara, but while on his way thither to 
take command of his army, already on the frontier, at Albany 
lie was met by a flag of truce from the Governor-General, borne 
by Colonel Bayes, from Montreal. This messenger was the offi- 
cial bearer of the news that the English had revoked their orders 
in council, wliich liad for years been so obnoxious to American 
■commei'ce, and which had been among the principal causes of the 
war. Under the influence of such a harbinger of peace, an armis- 
tice was proposed.* Unhappily for General Hull and the Ameri- 
can cause, General Dearborn, instead of obeying his orders by 
invading Canada, signed the treacherous truce Avhich relieved 
the English forces of Canada from any apprehensions of danger 
to their Niagara frontier while they were concentrating their 
force against Detroit. While these contingencies were passing, 
so fortunately for the I'ritish, General Hull's indecision of pur- 
pose, which, it must be confessed, grew out of the web of diffi- 
•culties which encompassed him, had forfeited all confidence in 
him from his army. On the 8th of August he called a council 
of war, in which it was decided to advance against Maiden, but 
news of the fatal armistice followed this decision, sent by a mes- 
senger from General Porter, who held command on the Niagara 
frontier, accompanied with the unpropitious assurance that the 

* It will not be forgotten that this revocation took place five days after the 
American declaration of war, as stated in the foreg'oing pages. 



266 HulVs Unsuccessful Attempts to 0_pen Communication. 

proposed diversion of the English forces Lad resulted in a 
failure. 

This dispiriting news prevented him from advancing against 
the objective point, and lie retreated to Detroit. Two and a-half 
miles "from the present site of Monroe, Michigan, was a thriving- 
Frencli village, on the banks of the river Raisin, thirty-six miles 
south of Detroit. The expected convoy of provisions had reached 
this place in safety, but between this point and Detroit, Tecum- 
seh interposed his arniy of braves, and the commander of the 
convoy, not deeming it prudent to advance with such a numer- 
ous foe in his path, sent a messenger to General Hull for a force 
to open the way. 

On the 4th of August, Major Van Home, of Colonel Find- 
ley's regiment of Ohio volunteers, was sent on the mission with a 
command or 200 men. At Brownstown, nearly opposite 
Maiden, he fell into an ambuscade and was driven back, witli se- 
rious losses. 

On the 9th inst.. Colonel Miller w^as sent on the same danger- 
ous service, with the fourth Ohio regiment and a body of militia^ 
in all numbering 600 men. ^ 

Tnefear of an ambuscade along the low and forest-clad grounds- 
through which their path lay, caused them to proceed with cau- 
tion, and Captain Snelling was ordered to lead the advance. Ko 
enemy was seen till they had reached the Indian village of Mon- 
o-uagon, about half the distance to the river Raisin, where from 
behind a breastwork of logs a squad of British and Indians obr 
structed their path. A sharp and bloody battle immediately 
followed, in which the new American troops fougiit like veterans, 
and drove the British from the field ; but the Indians, led by 
Tecumseh, though exposed to the terrible fire of the x\mericans, 
in which their loss had been severe, still hung around the skirts 
of the victorious Americans and made their position dangerous. 
In this emergency, Colonel Miller despatched a messenger back 
to Detroit to obtain provisions for the sustenance of his men, till 
thev could fii;lit tlieir way through the treacherous forest path ta 
meet the convoy. The required provisions were at first ordered 
to be sent under couiinand of Colonel McArthur, but a storm 
delaved the departure of the train till General Hull thought best 
to recall Co'onel Miller, rather than reinforce him, and he was- 
ordered back to Detroit. 

Arrangements were now inade to open communication with the- 
expected" convoy by a route further to the West, which was less 
exposed to the numerous enemy who hovered around the banks 
of the Detroit river along the road which Colonel Miller had 
passed, and which had frequently exposed his men to the fire, of 
the English Vessels which patroled its waters. 



General Brock Demands the Surrender of Detroit. 267 

Colonels Cass and McArfchur were detailed for this service, oi> 
the 14tli, witli 400 picked men. General Brock reached Maiden 
the same day, and immediately taking the offensive, advanced to 
Sandwich, opposite Detroit, and addressed to General Hull the 
followino; note : • 

"Sik: — The power afc my disposal authorizes me to require of you the imme- 
diate surrender of Detroit. It is far from my inclination to join in a, war of 
extermination, but you must be aware that the numerous body of Indians who 
have attached themselves to my troop? will be beyond my control the moment 
the contest commences. You will find me disposed to enter into such conditions 
as will satisfy the most scrupulous sense of honor. Lieutenant Colonel McDon- 
nell and Ma.jor Grec^g, are fully authorized to conclude any arrangements that 
may prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood. I have the honor to be your 
obedient servant, 

Isaac Brock, Major General, etc. 

His Excellency, Brigadier General Hull, etc. 

The reply was as follows : 

Head Quarters, Detroit, Aug. 15th, 1812. 

Sir: — I have no other reply to make, than to inform you that I am 'prepared 
to meet any force which may be at your disposal, and any consequences 
which may result from any exertion of it you may think proper to make. I am, 
etc., ^ William Hull, Brigadier General. 

His Excellency, Major General Brock, etc. 

Says General Hull, in his official account of the attack of De- 
troit and its surrender : " On the 15th, as soon as General Brock 
received my letter, his batteries opened on the town and fort, and 
continued until evening. In the evening, all the British ships of 
war came nearly as far up the river as Sandwich, three miles be- 
low Detroit. At daylight on the Ifith, the cannonade recom- 
menced, and in a short time I received information that the 
British army and Indians were landing below the Spring Wells^ 
under the cover of their sliips of war. At this time, the whole 
effective force at my disposal at Detroit did not exceed 800 men. 
Being new troops and unaccustomed to camp life ; having per- 
formed a laborious march ; having been engaged in a number of 
battles and skirmishes, in which many had fallen and more hadi 
received wounds ; in addition to which a large number being sick 
and nnprovided with medicine and the comforts necessaVv for 
their situation ; are the general causes by which the strength of 
tiie army was reduced. * * It now became necessary to fio-ht 
the enemy in the field, collect the whole force in the fort, or 
propose terms of capitulation. I could not have carried into the 
field more than 600 men, and left any adequate force in tlie fort^ 
There were landed at that time of the enemy a regular force of 
much more than that number, and twice the number of Indians. 
Considering this great inequality of force, I did not think it 
expedient to adopt the first measure. The second must have 
been attended with a great sacrifice of blood and no possible ad- 
vantage, Decause the contest could not liave been sustamed more 



^68 Detroit Sui^i^endered. 

than a day for want of power, and but a few days for want of 
provisions. 

In addition to this, Cols. Mc Arthur and Cass would havobeen 
in a most hazardous situation. I feared nothing but the last al- 
ternative. I have dared to adopt it I well know the 

hiijli reponsibility of the measure, and I take the whole of it my 
self It was dictated by a sense of duty and a full conviction 
of its expediency." 

The surrender of the garrison of Detroit, together with the 
town and the entire territory of Michigan, took place on the 16tli. 
It forms a humiliating page in American history, for which the 
tardiness in the government in sustaining General Hull was more 
res]X)nsil)le than General Hull himself; albeit, it is but a just 
tribute to English heroism to admit that it had a potent intluence 
in the work. That General Hull could have taken Maiden at 
first, and thus saved Detroit, is probable; but in default of this, 
that he could have held Detroit was impossible. No wonder the 
fall of the place stung the American heart, when thousands of 
our old Revolutionary soldiers were yet living, who beheld the 
triumph of English arms with indescribable bitterness. General 
Hull was tried by court-martial and sentenced to be hung. Hap- 
pily for humanity's sake, the President pardoned him. The sen- 
tence appeased the pride of the nation, as well as to help conceal 
the mistakes of the government, till history in its own destined 
time should vindicate truth, even at the expense of the govern- 
ment. 

Note. — The following is an item from a journal kept by the father of Hon. 
L. W. Claypool, of Morris, 111., who was a soldier in the Ohio ranks at the sur- 
render. It is inserted as a simple statement of the facts which verify tue 
English account of the surrender, as well as Hull's statement. It was furnished 
the author by Hon. Wm. Bross, Chicago: 

"Aug. 1')— British began firing opposite Detroit at 6 o'clock. Continued till 
after night. Ended by throwing a few shells. They received heavy firing from 
our side. The day following, at 6 o'clock, renewed the firing. The compli- 
ment was returned. Firing continual three hours. We ceased firing first. 
Sent over a flag of truce. British ofiiccrs came over. Talked of capitulation, 
■well understanding that l.OOD Biitisii luul crossed at Spring Wells, and that a 
•vast number of Indians were back of the Kor. (])erliaps 1,500). Under consider- 
ation of these facts, surrendered the whole to the British. They took possession 
.at 11 o'clock. We gave up our arms at I'J o'clock. In the evening, went on 
bo;u-d thte schooner Nancy. Continued here till the 18th. Sailed to Maiden. Lay 
there till the 'JOth: G in the morning till 12 o'clock. Sailed twenty-three miles. 
.\iichored all night. L'lst — Wind unfavorable. 22nd, Sunda}' — Cast anchor at 
t'uttaiit Bay Island. Weighed anchor at 4 o'clock Sunday. 2:Jd of August— 
Lanih'il at thi- mouth of Black River. 24th— Marched twenty-seven miles dowa 
Lake Erie to the Town of Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, 0." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Fort Dearborn in Danger — Its E'vacuation ordered hy 
General Hull — Winnemao, the Frit-ndly 3lessenge7\ — 
Vacillating Policy of Captain Heald^ the Commander — 
Inflexibility of Ensign Konan — John Kinsie, his Wise 
Counsel — Cotincil loith the Pottawattomies — Bad Faith 
of Captain HeaJd in the Destruction of Arms, etc. '—Hon- 
orable Confession of Black Partridge — Arrival of a Heroic 
Friend — The Fort Evacuated — Indian Treachery — Mrs. 
Helrns Graphic Account of the llassaa'c which fol lowed. 

During the waning fortunes of General Hull at Detroit, ere he 
had surrendered the place, evidently a]>prcliensivc of liis fate,. 
he detennined to send a messenger to Fort Dearborn to ap- 
prise its inmates of the situation, and give tlieni timely warning 
to save themselves by retreating to Fort AVayne, if the garrison 
were not in a situation to hold out till succor could come to their 
relief. AVinneraac, the Pottowattamie chief, of whom mention 
has been made in a previous chapter, was in his camp, and to 
him the mission was entrusted, lie started from Detroit on the 
28tli of July, with an order from General Hull to Captain Ileahl,. 
who held command of Fort Dearborn, and arrived safely at Chi- 
cago on the 7th of August, according to the account given in 
Wabun; but Lanman states that he arrived on the 9th, which ap- 
pears more consistent, as to the time it would take to travel the 
long wilderness path connecting the two places. He brought 
exciting news. War had been declared by the United Statea 
against England; Michilimacinac liad fallen M'ithout resistance, 
and Detroit was closely pressed by the Britisli and tlieir swarthy 
allies. Under these, adverse circumstances the evacuation of 
Fort Dearborn was ordered, providing they had not means to de- 
fend it, as the only means of safety left open to the garrison. 
Captain Ileald was further instructed to distribute all the goods 
in the fort and agency house among the Indians after leaving the 
post. 



!270 Captain Heald Orders the Evacuation of Fort Dearborn. 

Had all these conditions come upon them in their natural rou- 
tine, better preparation could have been made to meet them, but 
the news coming as it did, fell like an avalanch upon the unsus- 
pecting tenants of the fort. To add to their perplexities the 
relations between the commanding otKcer and his subordinates, 
particularly Ensign Eonan, was not harmonious. This young 
officer was bold, perhaps an eratic and certainly an out-spoken 
free thinker, regardless of any restraining limit dictated by 
policy or conservatism to the expression of his sentiments. For 
this and without doubt for other causes, Captain Ileald took no 
council with his subordinate officers as to what was to be done, 
but resolved in his own mind to evacuate the fort, although this 
decision was against the advice of both Winnemac, who had 
amply proved tlie sincerity of his friendship, and Mr, Kinzie, 
whose long and successful career among the Indians entitled his 
opinions to respect. And in vain did both of them exert them- 
selves to dissuade him from the hasty resolution. First, Winne- 
mac had at a private interview with Mr. Kinzie, strongly ad- 
vised that the garrison should shut themselves up in the fort and 
remain till reinforced, but if evacuation was determined on, let 
it be done immediately, before the Indians, through whose coun- 
try they must pass, should become acquainted with the news he 
had brought from Detroit. To this advice Captain Ileald replied, 
that, inasmuch as he had determined to leave the fort, it would be 
necessary to wait till the Indians of the neighborhood could be 
collected to receive an equal distribution of the property ordered to 
be o-iven to them. Winnemac then suggested an immediate evacu- 
tion, with everything left standing, and while the Indians were 
dividing the spoils the garrison might escape. 

This plan was also recommended by Mr. Kinzie, but was re- 
jected, and the next morning the order for evacuating the post 
according to the original plan of Captain Ileald, was read at the 
roll call. The impolicy of this plan being apparent to the sub- 
ordinate officers, in the course of the day they sought an inter- 
view with Captain Ileald to remonstrate against it. They rep- 
resented to him the frail tenure by which the treacherous chain 
of friendship now bound the Indians to the American interest. 
That o-ood-will towards the lamily of Mr. Kinzie was its only 
hold, and it was not to be expected that the few chiefs who showed 
this feeling towards this one household would be able to restrain 
the turbufent passions of the whole tribe when the war ^vhoo]) 
was once raised. That their retreat must be slow, incumbered 
as it would be with women, children and invalids. That succoi- 
ini2;ht arrive before an attack could be made from the Britisli 
who had just taken Michilimackinac, but if not it were far bet- 
ter to fall' into their hands than expose themselves to the fury of 



Council wltli the Pottawattomics. 271 

the savages. To these suggestions Captain Ileakl re]>lied that a 
special order had been issued from the War Department tliat no 
post shoukl be surrendered without a battle, and his Ibrce was 
inadequate for this and that he should he censured for remaining 
when a prospect for a safe retreat apjieared probable, to insure 
which he proposed, after distributing the goods to the Indians, to 
promise them further reward for escorting his command safely to 
Fort AVayne. From this time the under officers, seeing the im- 
j)ossibilitj of changing his ]Mir]H)ses, remained silent on the sub- 
ject, but Mr, Kinzie was still })ersistent, and while conversing 
with him one day on the parade-ground, on the subject. Captain 
Pleald, in reply to his arguments, said, " I could not remain if I 
thought best, for I have but a small store of provisions." " Why, 
Captain," said an impulsive soldier, ''you have cattle enough to 
last six months." To this the unoffended Captain replied, " I 
have no salt to preserve the meat." "Then jerk it, as the Indi- 
ans do their venison," continued the persistant soldier.* ■ As the 
weary days advanced, the Indians assumed an air of insolence 
•quite inconsistent with the ^^\v\t of friendship. Impertinent 
squaws cast malignant glances at the fort, as they thronged 
around its gates as if a jubilee was about to reward their watch- 
ing, and uncouth warriors sometimes pressed through the gates, 
heedless of the sentinel's protest, and once a gun was discharged 
in the ladies' parlor by one of these unwelcome visitors. 

On the 12th a council was held with the Pottawattomics who 
had bv this time assembled in considerable numbers around the 
fort. The conference took ]ilace on the parade-ground just out- 
side the palisades. Captain lieald laid aside his prejudices and 
invited all the officers of the fort to take part in its deliberations, 
but they had lost all laith in the pretensions of the Indians and 
declined. Moreover, they had been informed that it was to be 
made the occasion of a massacre of the officers, the truth of 
which rumor was strengthened by perhaps weH-grounded suspi- 
cions. Under these a})prehensions they betook themselves to 
the block-house wdiere the cannon were shotted ready for any 
hostile demonstration which might show itself. Captain lieald, 
however, witli undiminished laith in the Indians, accompanied 
by Mr. Ivinzie, convened the council. At its sitting the Indians 
were informed of his plans to withdraw from the fort, and were 
promised the gift of all the goods, not only in the fort itself but 
of those in the agency house, including the ammunition and 
provisions. The Pottawattomics on their ]>art promised an es- 
cort to conduct them safely to Ft. Wayne, for which they were 

* As beef or venison was preserved by drying: and smoking, in the early 
day, wliich process was called jerking. — [Author. 



272 Destruction of Anns, Etc. 

to receive a liberal reward on the spot and an additional one oi* 
their arrival at the place. Thns closed the council with apparent 
good-will and contidence on the part of Captain Heald, not 
shared bv his junior officers or soldiers. As already stated, 
Winnemac had brouo^ht to the o:arrison the news of the fall of 
Michilimanackinac, but from prudential motives the Indians 
were not informed of it. This attempt at concealment, however, 
was unavailing, for Tecumseh had sent a messenger to them to 
secure their co-operation in the general warfare which he was 
waging against the Americans as a British ally, by telling them 
the news so auspicious to their cause. Ko sooner had the coun- 
cil closed and the chiefs withdrawn than Mr. Ivinzie, alarmed at 
its impolitic terms, protested against furnishim:; the Indians 
arms, Avhich would ]M-obably be used against themselves, and 
Captain Ileald, himself, foi" the first time awakened to a sense 
of surrounding danger, determined to destroy all the arms and 
ammunition not wanted for his own use, instead of o-ivinw; it to 
the Indians, as stipulated in the council. 

The next day the goods were disti'il)uted, all but the ammuni- 
t'on, arms, and the liquors, of which there was a plentiful store. 
The Indians were lar from being satisfied. The things they 
most coveted were still withheld and at night they hung about 
the premises, crawling prostrate through the tall grass, where- 
ever it afibrded concealment within hearing of what was going 
on at the fort. AVhen night came, their ser]>entine toil Mas re- 
warded with a full discovery of what they had suspected. With 
indiofuation thev beheld the destruction of the muskets, the frair- 
ments of which, together with powder, shot, nints and gun 
screws were thrown into a well at the extremity of the sally 
port. Next came the casks of liquor. These were rolled to the 
bank of the river, the heads knocked in and the contents given 
to intoxicate the fishes. The Indians, however, got a taste of 
the precious nectar which, diluted as it was, they sipped from 
the surface of t'le water, under cover of night, while drinking 
wliich they declared that the whole river tasted like strong grog. 
However agreeable such a spoliation might l>e to modern apostles 
of temperance, it was offensive to the Indians to the last degree. 
Aside from such a waste of property, they looked upon it as a 
piece of treachery on the part of Captain Ileald, which had de- 
prived them of the most essential part of the promised gifts. 
This last act was the most fatal error yet committed, as it com- 
promised all the good-fellowship that existed between the In- 
dians and the garrison, on which alone Captain Ileald had bas.'d 
a frail hope of security. 

Up to this tinie the leading chiefs of the Pottawattomies (it is 
fair to infer) felt their ability to restrain the war spirit among 



Copiah^ Wdls. 273 

the young braves who longed for a chance to acliieve notoriety by 
ornamenting their belts with the scalp of an enemy, and were 
as unscrupulous as to the means employed to obtain it as some 
of our modern Ipoliticians are as to the issues that party strife 
thrusts into the arena of what should be the policy of the na- 
tion. 

Black Partridge was conspicuous among the friendly and con- 
siderate chiefs but after the destruction of the arms.' etc., feeling 
that he could no longer restrain the war spirit of his people, he 
entered the quarters of Captain Heald with deep dejection. 
"Father," said the high-minded chief, " I come to deliv'er up to 
you the medal I wear. It was given me by the Americans, and 
I have long worn it in token of our mutual triendship, but our 
young men are resolved to imbrue their hands in the blood of 
the whites. I cannot restrain them, and I will not wear a token 
of peace while I am compelled to act as an enemy." Whatever 
effect this startling disclosure produced on the minds of the gar- 
rison, it was now too late to make any change in their plans, for 
nothing was left on M'hichjto subsist or with which to defend 
themselves, as only twenty-hve rounds of ammunition to the 
man and one extra box of cartridges had been reserved from the 
<reneral distribution. This was the situation on the nio-ht of the 
13th when the devoted garrison returned to rest, perhaps for the 
last time. While this suspense was c(mtinuing at the fort, suc- 
cor Avas on the way to them. The wife of Captain Ileal d was 
the daughter of Colonel Samuel AVells, of Kentucky, whose 
brother (afterwards Captain William AV^aync Wells) when thir- 
teen years old had been taken captive by the Indians, in one of 
the border skirmishes, which was a frequent occurrence in those 
early times.* He was adopted into the family of Little Turtle 
and bred in the lofty virtues of which that distinguished chief 
was so able an exponent. 

At the defeat of St. Clair, Mr. Wells had been in the front 
and maintained the position till a wall of dead bodies of the 
American artillery men shielded him from the tempest of bullets 
which assailed his men. xS^otwithstanding he had won laurels 
with the people of his adoption whom he had thus far success- 
fully defended, in his reflective moments he clearly foresaw their 
declining fortunes and resolved to abandon them to a fate from 
which it was impossible to extricate them. As might be sup- 
]»osed this resolution filled his heart witli contending emotions, 
painful beyond the power of but few to conceive. ()n the one 
hand were the associations which had gathered around his ma- 
turing years, perha])S all the more tender because h;irdships and 

* See Western Annals, p. 615. 



274 His Arrlv-d at Fort Dearhorn. 

toil luad been ever present with tliein. On the other, was his am-- 
bition to cast liis lot among his own people, who alone could ele- 
vate him to a position that his talents deserved. But as treacli- 
ery Avith him was impossible, he phi,inly told his adopted father, 
Little Tm-tle, his intentions, and with much pathos bade him 
o-ood-bve, as he left him and allied himself to the arm}' of Gen- 
eral Wayne, in 1794. With him he fought during the campaign 
and aftCM- the peace wliich followed it, he again joined Little 
Turtle, who now fully sliared his sentiments, and both went to 
Philadelphia together, in 1798, to take measures to bring civil - 
ration to their race. Here tlie celebrated traveler, Mr. Volney, 
met Mr. AVells, and has left an interesting record of the inter- 
view.* He was also received with marked respect by the Qua- 
kers at the place, who never lost an opportunity to extend the 
open hand to hel]) the Indian race. He then returned to Fort 
Wayne, where he remained till the war of 1812.t The war 
whoop was now again ringing through the forest, and lie was 
once more thrust into its theatre. Rumors of the disaffection of 
the Pottawattomies, who hung around Fort Dearborn, reached 
him, and he promptly flew to the defense of his friends at the 
place, one of whom (Mrs. Heald) was his blood relation. 

He arrived there on the l-lth and found things in a desperate 
condition. 

It was too late to defend the fort, and the only resource left 
was to retreat in the face of a savage foe. dangerous from their 
numbers at best, but now irritated by the destruction of the 
irms and liquors which had been promised to them. Hope re- 
fived in the hearts of the devoted garrison when he, at the liead 
>f 15 Miamis, entered the walls of the fort, and consoled by this 
♦mail reinforcement, all but the sentinels retired to rest. 

"The morning of the lath arrived. All things were in readi- 
aess, and nine o'clock was the hour named for starting. 

Mr. Kinzie had volunteered to accompany the troops in their 
march, and had entrusted his family to the care of some friendly 
Indians, who had promised to convey them in. a boat around the 
head of Lake Michigan to a point :{: on the St. Joseph's river; 
there to be joined by the troops, should the prosecution of their 
march be permitted them. 

Early in the morning Mr. Kinzie received a message from 
To-pee-nee-bee, a chief of the St. Joseph's band, informing him 
that mischief was intended by the Pottowattamies who had en- 

* Volney 's View, p. 357. 

f Whiting's Historical Discourses, delivered at Detroit, 1832. 
t The spot now called Bertrand, then known as Pare avx Vaches, from its 
havino- been a pasture ground to an old French fort in the neishhorhood. 



The Attack Begins. 275 

gaged to escort the detaclnnent; and urging him to relinquish 
his design of accompanying the troops by land, promising him 
tliat tlie boat containing liimself and family sliould be ])ermitted 
to pass in safety to St. Joseph's. 

Mr. Kinzie declined acceding to this proposal, as he believed 
that his presence might operate as a restraint upon the fury of 
the savages, so "vvarmly were the greater part of them attached 
to himself and his family. 

The party in the boat consisted of Mrs. Kinzie and her four 
younger children, their nurse Grutte,* a clerk of Mr. Kinzie's, 
two servants and the boatmen, besides the two Indians who 
acted as their protectors. The boat started, but had scarcely 
reached the mouth of the river, which, it will be recollected was 
here half a mile below the fort, vidien another messenger frora 
V To-pee-nee-hee arrived to detain them where they were. 

In breathless expectation sat the wife and mother. She was a 

. woman of uncommon energy and strength, of character, yet her 

lieart died within her as she folded her arms around her helpless 

infants, and gazed upon the march of her husband and eldest 

child to certain destruction. 

As the troops left the fort, the band struck up the Dead March. 
On they came in militarv array, but with solemn mien. Cap- 
tain AVells took the lead at the head of his little band of Miamis. 
He had blackened his face before leaving the garrison, in token 
of his impending fate. They took their route along the lake 
shore. When they reached the point where comnienced a range 
of sand hills intervening between the prairie and the beach, the 
escort of Pottowattamies, in number about five hundred, kept 
the level of the prairie, instead of continuing along the beach 
with the Americans and Miamis. 

They had marched perhaps a mile and a half, when Captain 
Wells, who had kept somewhat in advance with his Miamis, 
■came riding furiously back. ''■ They are about to attack us," 
shouted he; "form instantly, and charge upon them." 

Scarcely were the words uttered, when a volley was sliowered 
from among the sand-hills. The troops were hastily brought 
into line, and chai-ged up the bank. One man, a veteran of 
f^eveuty winters, fell as they ascended. The remainder of the 
scene is best dcacribed in the words of an eye-witness and par- 
ticipator in the tragedy, Mrs. Helm, the wife of Captain (then 
Lieutenant) Helm, and step-daughter of Mr. Kinzie: 

"After we had left the bank the tiring became general. The 
]\Iiamis fled at the outset. Tlieir chief rode up to the Pottowat- 
tamies and said: 



* Afterwards Mrs. Jean Baptisto IJoaubien. 



276 Rescue of Mrs. Helm. 

" 'Yon have deceived tlie American? and ns. Yon Lave done 
a bad action, and (brandishin<^ liis tomahawk) I will l)e the lirst 
to head a party of Americans to return and punish your treach- 
ery.' So saying he galloped after his companions, who were 
now sconring across the prairies. 

•* The troops behaved most gallantly. They were but a hand- 
ful, but they seemed resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possi- 
ble. Our liorses pranced and bounded, and could hardly be re- 
sti'ained as the balls whistled among them. I drew off a little, 
and gazed upon my husband and father, who were yet nnharmed. 
1 felt that my hour Mas come, and endeavored to forget those I 
loved, and prepare m^^self for my approaching; fate. 

" While I was thus engaged, the sui-geon, l)r. Yan Voorhees^ 
came up. He was badly wounded. His horse liad been shot 
under him, and he had received a ball in his leo;. Evorv muscle 
ol his lace was quiverino- with the agony of terror. He said to 
me — 'Do 3'ou think they Mill take our lives? I am badly 
wounded, but I think not mortally. Perhaps we might purchase 
our lives bv promisiuii; them a laroe reward. Do vou think there 
is any chance f 

"'Dr. Yan Yoorhee?,' said I, 'do not let ns M-aste the fcM' mo- 
ments that yet remain to ns in such vain hopes. Our fate is 
inevitable. In a few moments m'c mnst appear bei\>re the bar of 
God. Let us make what preparation is yet in our poMer.' 

"'Oh! I cannot die," exclaimed he, 'I am not lit to die — if I 
had but a short time to prepare — death is aMi'ul!' 

" I pointed to Ensign Eonan, \\\\o thongh mortally wounded 
and nearly doM'u, was still lighting M'ith desperation on one 
knee. 

" ' Look at that man,' said I, ' at least he dies like a soldier.' 

"'Yes,' replied the unfortunate man, with a convulsive gasp, 
'bnt he has no terrors of the future — he is an unbeliever!' 

" At this moment a young Indian raised his tomahaM'k at me. 
By springing aside, I avoided the bloM' M-hich was intended for 
my skull, but which alighted on my shoulder. I seized him 
around the neck, and M'hile exertiuir mv utmost efforts to ijet 
possession of his scalping-knife. Mhich hung in a scabbard over 
his breast, I M'as dragged from his grasp by another and an 
older Indian. 

"The latter bore me struggling and resisting towards the lake. 
Notwithstandinj; the rapiditv M'ith M-hich I was hnrried alon^, I 
recognized as I passed them the lifeless remains of the nnfortu- 
nate surgeon. Some murderous tomahaMk had stretched him 
upon the very spot M'here I had last seen him. 

"I "was immediately plunged into the water and held there 
■with a forcible hand, notwithstandino' mv resistance. I soon 



BUick Partridge the Rescuer. 277 

perceived, however, that the object of luy captor was not to 
<h"own me, for he held me firmly in sneh a position as to place 
any head above water. This reassured me, and regard in«^ him 
attentively, I soon recoo-iiized, in spite of the paint with which 
2ie was diso-uised, The Black Partridge. 

" When the firing- had nearly subsided, my preserver bore me 
from the Avater and conducted me up the sand-banks. It was a 
burning August morning, and walking through the sand in mv 
•drenched condition Mas inexpressibly painful and fatiguino-. 1 
stooped and took off my shoes to free them from the sand with 
which they were nearly filled, when a squaw seized and carried 
them olf. and I was obliged to proceed without theui. 

" When we had gained the prairie, I was met by mj father, 
Avho told me that my husband was safe and but slightly wounded. 
Tliev led me gentlv back towards the Chicago lliver, along the 
southern bank of which was the Pottowattaniie eucanlpment. 
At one time I was phiced upon a horse without a saddle, but 
iinding the motion insupportable, I sprang off. Supported 
partly by my kind conductor. Black Partridge, and partly by 
smother Indian. Pee-so-tum, who held dangling in his hand a 
scalp, which by the black ribbon around the queue I recognized 
iis that of Oapt. Wells, I dragged my fainting steps to one of 
!the wigwams. 

"The wife of Wau-bee-nee-mah, a chief from the Illinois 
River, M'as standing near, and seeing my exhausted condition she 
:seized a kettle, dipped up some water from a stream that flowed 
fnear,* threw into it some maple sugar, and stirring it up with 
her hand gave it me to drink. This act of kindness, in the 
midst of so many horrors, touched me most sensibly, but my 
attention Avas soon diverted to other objects. 

"The fort had become a scene of plunder to such as remained 
after the troops marched out. The cattle had been shot down as 
■they ran at large, and lay dead or dying around. This work of 
butchery had commenced just as we were leaving the fort. I 
well remembered a remark of Ensign llonan, as the firing went 
•on. ' Such,' turning to me, 'is to be our fate — to be shot down 
like brutes !' 

'* AVell, sir,' said the Commanding Oflicer, who overheard him, 
■* are you afraid ? ' 

"'No,' re]:)lied the high spirited young man, ' I can march up 
to the enemy Mhere you dare not show your lace; ' and his sub- 
sequent gallant behavior showed this to be no idle boast. 

'• As the noise of tlie firing grew graduallv less and the strag- 
^lers from the victorious party came dropping in, I received con- 

*Just by the pivseiit ittate street Maiket. 



278 Heroism of Ca_ptuin Wells. 

firmation of what my father had hurriedly communicated in our 
Tencontre on the lake shore; namely, that the whites had sur- 
rendered after the loss of about two-thirds of their number. 
They had stipulated, through the interpreter, Peresh Leclerc, for 
the preservation of their lives, and those of the reniaining 
women and children, and for their delivery at some of the 
British posts, unless ransomed by traders in the Indian country. 
It appears that the wounded prisoners were not considered as in- 
cluded in the stipulation, and a horrible scene ensued upon their 
being brought into camp. 

"An old squaw, infuriated by the loss of friends, or excited by 
the sanguinary scenes around her, seemed possessed by a demo- 
niac ferocity. She seized a stable-fork and assaulted one misera- 
ble victim, who lay groaning and writhing in the agony of his 
wounds, aggravated by the scorching beams of the sun. With a 
delicacy of feeling scarcely to have been expected under such 
circumstances, Wau-bee-nee-mah stretched a mat across twi> 
poles, between me and this dreadful scene. I was thus spared in 
some degree a view of its horrors, although I could not entirely 
close my ears to the cries of the sufferer. The following night 
five more of the wounded prisoners were tomahawked. 

" The Americans after their first attack by the Indians, charged! 
upon those who had concealed themselves in a sort of ravine in- 
tervening between the sand banks and the prairie. The latter- 
gathered themselves into a body, and after some hard tighting,. 
in which the number of whites had become reduced to twenty- 
eight, this little band succeeded in breaking through the enemy,. 
and o-ained a rising ground, not far from the Oak Woods. The- 
contest now seemed hopeless, and Lt. Helm sent Peresh Leclerc, 
a half-breed boy in the service of Mr. Kinzie, who had accom- 
panied the detachment and fought manfully on their side, to- 
propose terms of capitulation. It was stipulated that the lives 
of all the survivors should be spared, and a ransom permitted as- 
soon as practicable. 

" But, in the mean time, a horrible scene had been enacted. 
One young savage, climbing into the baggage-wagon containing- 
the children of the white families, twelve in number, toma- 
nawked the children of the entire group. This was during the 
engagement near the Sand-hills. When Captain Wells, who was- 
figiiting near, beheld it, he exclaimed: 

'"Is" that their game, butchering the women and children?' 
Then I will kill too!' 

"So saying, he turned his horse's head, and started for the In- 
dian camp, near the fort, where had been left their squaws and! 
children. 

"Several Indians pursued him as he galloped along. He laidl 



Bravery of Mrs. Corlin and Mrs. Holt. 279 

himself flat on the neck of his horse, loadinu^ and tiring in tliat 
position, as he wonld occasionally turn on his pursuers. At 
length their balls took efiect, killing his horse, and severely 
wounding himself. At this moment he was met by Winnemieg''' 
and WaiL-han-see., who endeavored to save him from the savao-es 
who had now overtaken him. As they supported him along, 
after having disengaged him from his horse, he received his 
death-blow from anotlier Indian, Pee-so-tum, who stabbed hira 
in the back.f 

"The heroic resolution of one of the soldier's wives deserves 
to be recorded. She was a Mrs. Corbin, and had, from the first, 
expressed the determination never to fall into the hands of the 
savages, believing that their prisoners were always subjected to 
tortures worse than death. 

"When, therefore, a party came upon her, to make her a pris- 
oner, she fought with desperation, refusing to surrender, although 
assured, by signs, of safety and kind treatment, and literally 
sutfered herself to be cut to pieces, rather than become their 
captive. 

" There was a Sergeant Holt, who, early in the engagement, re- 
ceived a ball in the neck. Finding himself badly wounded, he 
gave his sword to his wife, who was on horseback near him, 
telling her to defend herself — he then made for the lake, to keep 
out of the way of the balls. Mrs. Holt rode a very fine horse, 
which the Indians were desirous of possessing, and they there- 
fore attacked her, in hopes of dismounting her. 

"They fought only with the butt-ends of their guns, for their 
object was not to kill her. She hacked and hewed at their pieces 
as they were thrust against her, now on this side, now on that. 
Finally, she broke loose from them, and dashed out into tiie 
prairie. The Indians pursued her, shouting and laughing, and 
now and then calling out : 

" ' The brave woman ! do not hurt her ! * 

"At length they overtook her again, and while she was en- 
gaged with two or three in front, one succeeded in seizing her 
by the neck behind, and dragging her, although a large and 
powerful woman, from her horse. Notwithstanding that their 
guns had been so hacked and injured, and even themselves cut 
severely, they seemed to regard her only with admiration. They 

* Winnemac (sometimes spelled with a ' g- ' as a final letter.) — [Author. 

t Captain Wells' heart was afterwards taken out. cut in pieces and distrib- 
uted among the tribes. After being scalped, his remains were left nnburied, as 
■were also those of the children massacred, and the soldiers and women slain in 
battle. Billy Caldwell, an Indian chief, the next day finding the head of Cap- 
tain Wells in one place and his bod, in another, caused a hole to be dug in the 
sand and his remains to b^ interred. — B^virn's Illinois. 



280 Mrs. Heald Again Rescued. 

took her to a trader on the Illinois River, by whom she was re- 
stored to her friends, after having received every kindness during 
her captivity." 

"Those of the family of Mr. Kinzie, who had remained in tlie 
boat, near the mouth of the river, were carefully guarded by 
Kee-po-tah and another Indian. They had seen the smoke — 
then the blaze — and immediately after the report of the tirst tre- 
mendous discharge sounded in their ears. Then all was confu- 
sion. They realized nothing until they saw an Indian come 
towards them from the battle-ground, leading a liorse on which 
sat a lady, apparently wounded. 

"'That is Mrs. Heald,' cried Mrs. Kinzie. 'That Indian will 
kill her. Run, Chandonnai,' t<^ one of Mr. Kinzie's clerks, ' take 
the mule that is tied there, and offei* it to him to release her.' 

"Her captor, by this time, was in the act of disengaging her 
bonnet from her head, in order to scalp her. Chandonnai ran 
lip, offered the mule as a ransom, with the promise of ten bottles 
of whisky, as soon as they should reach his village. The latter 
was a strong temptation. 

" ' But,' said the Indian, she is badly wounded — she will die. 
Will you give me the whiskey, at all events ?' 

"Chandonnai promised that he would, and the bargain was 
concluded. The savage placed the lady's bonnet on his own head, 
and after an ineffectual effort on the part of some squaws to rob 
her of her shoes and stockings, she was brought on board the 
boat, where she lay moaning with pain from the many bullet 
wounds she liad received in both arms. 

"The horse she had ridden was a fine spirited animal, and, 
being desirous of possessing themselves of it uninjured, the In- 
dians had aimed their shots so as to disable the rider, without 
injuring her steed. 

" She had not lain long in the boat, when a young Indian of 
savage aspect was seen approaching. A buffalo robe was hastily 
drawn over Mrs. Heald, and she was admonished to suppress 
all sound of complaint, as she valued her life. 

" The heroic woman remained perfectly silent, while the savage 
drew near. He had a pistol in his hand, which he rested on the 
side of the boat, while, with a 'fearful scowl, he looked pryingly 
around. Black Jim, one of the servants who stood in the bow of 
the boat, seized an axe that lay near, and signed to him that 
if he shot, he would cleave his skull; telling him that the 
boat contained only the family oH SJiaio-nee-<iAO-l'ee.-\ Upon this 
the Indian retired. It afterward a])peared that the object of his 

*Mrs. Holt is believed to be still living in the State of Ohio, 
t The Indian name i'or Mr. Kinzie — [AuxaOR. 



JS^eio Dangers Aoerted. 231 

>carcli was Mr. Burnett, a trader from St. Joseph's, with whom 
he had some account to settle. 

'' "When the boat was at leno-th permitted to return to the 
mansion of Mr. Kinzie, and Mrs. Heakl was removed to the 
Jiouse, it became necessary to dress her wounds. 

" ^[r. K. applied to an old chief who stood bj, and who, like 
most of his tribe, possessed some skill in surgery, to extract a 
ball from the arm ofthe sufferer. 

'' ' No, father,' replied he. ' I cannot do it — it makes me sick 
here" — (placing his liand on his heart). 

" Mr. Kinzie then performed the operation himself with his 
penknife. 

" At tlieir own mansion the family of Mr. Kinzie were closely 
^ffuarded bv their Indian friends, wliose intention it was, to carry 
them to Detroit for security. The rest of the prisoners remained 
at the wigwams of their captors. 

" The following morning the work of plunder being coinpleted, 
the Indians set iire to the fort. A very equitable distribution of 
tlie finery ap]>eared to have been made, and shawls, ribbons, and 
feathers fluttered about in all directions. The ludicrous appear- 
ance of one young fellow who liad arrayed himself in a muslin 
g«wn, and the bonnet of one of the ladies, would, under other 
circumstances, have afforded matter of amusement. 

'• Black Partridge, Wau-ban-see and Kee-po-tah, with two 
other Indians, having established themselves in the porch of the 
building as sentinels, to protect the family from any evil that the 
young men might be excited to commit, all remained tranquil 
for a short space after the conflagration. 

"Very soon, however, a party, of Indians from the Wabash 
made their appearance. These were, decidedly, the most hostile 
and implacable of all the tribes of the Potto wattamies. 

'* Beincr more remote, thev had shared less than some of their 
brethren in the kindness of Mr. Kinzie and his family, and con- 
sequently their sentiments of regard for them were less power- 
ful. 

" Runners had been sent to the villages to apprize them of 
the intended evacuation of the post, as well as of the plan ofthe 
Indians assembled to attack the troops. 

"'Thirsting to participate in such a scene they hurried on, and 
great was their mortification on arriving at the river Aux Plains, 
to meet with a party of their friends having with them their 
chief Nee-scot-nee-meg, badly wounded, and to learn that the 
battle was over, the spoils divided, and the scalps all taken. 

"On arriving at Chicago they blackened their faces, and pro- 
ceeded towards the dwelling of ^Iy. Kinzie. 

"From his station on the piazza Black Partridge had watched 



282 Contuuied Fidtlity of Black rartr'ahjc. 

their approach, and his fears were particularly awalceiiod for the 
safety of Mrs. Helm (^Mr. Kinzie's step-daiig-hter\ who had re- 
cently come to the post; and was personally unknown to the- 
more remote Indians. By his advice she was made to assume 
the ordinary dress of a French woman of the country; namely, 
a short gown and petticoat, with a blue cotton handkerchief 
wrapped around her head In this disguise she was conducted 
bv Black Partridge himself to the house of Ouilmette, a French- 
man with a lialf-breed wife, who formed a part of the establish- 
ment of Mr. Kinzie, and whose dwelling was close at hand. 

" It so happened that the Indians came hrst to this house, in 
their search for prisoners. As they approached, the inmates^ 
fearful that the fair complexion and genei-al appearance of Mrs. 
Helm might betray lier for an American, raised a large feather- 
bed and placed her under tire edge of it, upon the bedstead, with 
her face to the wall. Mrs. Bisson, the sister of Ouilmette's wife, 
then seated herself with her sewintr upoii the front of the bed. 

" It was a hot dav in Auo^ust, and the feverish excitement of 
fear and agitation, together with her position, which was nearly 
suffocating, became so intolerable, that Mrs. Helm at length en- 
treated to be released and given up to the Indians. 

"'I can but die,' said she; 'let them put an end to my misery 
at once.' 

"Mrs. Bisson replied, ' Your death would be the destruction 
of us all, for Black Partridge has resolved that if one drop of the 
blood of your family is spilled, he will take the lives of all con- 
cerned ill it, even his nearest friends, and if once the work of 
murder commences, there will be no end of it, so long as there 
remains one white person, or half breed, in the country.' 

"This expostulation nerved Mrs. Helm with fresh resolution.. 

"The Indians entered, and she could occasionally see theuv 
from her hiding-place, gliding about, and stealthily inspecting 
every part of the room, though without making any ostensible 
search, until apparently satished that there was no one concealed^ 
they left the house. 

" All this time Mrs. Bisson had kept her seat upon the side of 
the bed, calmly sorting and arranging the j^atchwork of the 
quilt on which she was engaged, and preserving an a}>]iearance 
of the utmost tranquility, although she knew not but that the 
next moment she might receive a tomahawk in her brain. Her 
self-command unquestionably saved the lives of all present. 

"From Ouilmette's house the party of Indians proceeded to 
the dwelling of Mr. Kinzie. The}' entered the parlor in which 
the family were assembled M'itli their faithful protectors, and 
seated themselves upon the tioor in silence. 

" Black Partridge perceived from their moody and revengeful 



The Sau-ga-nash to The Rescue. 283- 

looks what was passing in their minds, but lie dared not renion- 
strare with them, lie only observed in a low tone to AVau- ban- 
see — 

"'We have endeavored to save our friends, but it is in vain — 
nothing will save them now.' 

"At this moment a friendly whoup was heard from a party of 
new comers on the opposite bank of the river. Black Partridge 
sprang to meet their leader, as the canoes in which they had has- 
tily embarked touched the bank near the house. 

" ' Who are you?' demanded he. 

"'A man — who are youf 

" ' A man like yourself, but tell me who you are ' — meanings 
tell me your disposition, and which side you are for. 

'" 1 am the Sau-ga-nashP 

" ' Then make all speed to the house — your friend is in dan- 
ger, and you alone can save him.' 

'■'•Billy Caldwell,'^ for it was he, entered the parlor with a 
calm step, and without a trace of agitation in his manner. He 
deliberately took off his accoutrements and placed them with his^ 
rifle behind the door; then sahited the hostile savages. 

" ' How now, mv friends ! A good dav to vou. I M\as told 
there were enemies here, but I am glad to find only friends. 
AVhy have you blackened your faces ? Is it that you are mourn- 
ing for the friends you have lost in battle ?' (purposely misunder- 
standing this token of evil designs). 'Or is it that you are fast- 
ing ? It' so, ask our friend here, and he will give you to eat^ 
He is the Indian's friend, and never yet refused them what they 
had need of.' 

" Thus taken by surprise, the savages were ashamed to ac- 
knowledge their bloody purpose. They, therefore said modestly 
that they came to beg of their friends some M-hite cotton in which 
to wrap their dead, before ihterring them. This was given to 
them with some other presents^ a.id they took their departure 
peaceably from the premises. 

" Along with Mr. Kinzie's party was a non-commissioned offi- 

* Billy Caldwell was a half breed, and a chief of the ration. In his reply, 
" I am a Sau-ga-iiash,"" or Eiifrlishnian, he designed to convey, "I am a while 
man.'' Had he said, "' I am a Fottoivattamie,''' it would have been interpret* d 
to mean, "I belong to my nation, and am prepared to go all lengths with 
them." — iy^aubim. 

Billy Caldwell, who died but a short time since, was familiary known to 
many of our citizens in Chicago. His presence of mind unquestionably saved 
his friends from massacre. He was a naif or quarter breed. His father wa»- 
an otticer in the British armv: his mother a Wyandot woman; he was wel'k 
cducateil in Montreal before he came hither. Previous to the War of 1^12 he- 
was received iuid adopted as a chief among them— and called the Saii-ga-r.a h_ 
— Brouu's III., }>iil>tishe<^ in 1844. 



^S-k The Kinzie Family Sent to Detroit. 

cer who had made his escape in a siii^^ular manner. As the 
troops were about leaving the fort it was found that the baggage- 
iiorses of the surgeon had strayed off. The (;[uarter-master-ser- 
geant, Griffith, was sent to collect them and bring them on, it 
being absolutely necessary to recover them, since their packs 
contained part of the surgeon's apparatus, and the medicines for 
the march. 

" This man had been for a long time on the sick report, and 
for this i-eason was given the charge of the baggage, instead of 
being placed with the troops. His efforts to recover the horses 
being unsuccessful, he was hastening to rejoin his party; alarmed 
at some appearances of disorder and hostile indications among 
the Indians, when he was met and made prisoner by To-pee- 
nee-bee. 

"Having taken from him his arms and acoutrements, the 
•chief put him into a canoe and paddled him across the river, 
bidding him make for the woods and secrete himself. This he 
■did, and the following day, in the afternoon, seeing from his 
lurking-place that all appeared quiet, he ventured to steal cau- 
tiously into the garden of Ouilmette, where he concealed liiniself 
lor a time behind some currant-bushes. 

" At length he determined to enter the house, and accordingly 
climbed up through a small back window, into the room where 
the family were. This was just as the Wabash Indians left the 
house of Ouilmette for that of ^[r. Kinzie. The danger of the 
sergeant was now imminent. The lamily stripped him of his 
uniform and arrayed him in a suit of deer-skin, with belt, mocca- 
sins, and pipe, like a French engage. His dark complexion and 
large black whiskers favored the disguise. The family were all 
■ordered to address him in French, and although utterly ignorant 
of the language he continued to pass for a Ween-tee-gosh* and 
as such to accompany Mr. Kinzie and his family, undetected 
by his enemies until they reached a place of safety. 

"On the third dav after the battle, the fumilv of Mr. Kinzie, 
with the clerks of the establishment, were put into a boat, under 
the care of Francois, a half-breed interpreter, and conveyed to 
St. Joseph's, where they remained until the following November, 
under the protection of To-pee-nee-hees band. They were then 
-conducted to Detroit, under the escort of Chandonnai and their 
trusty Indian friend, Ke-po-tah, and delivered up as prisoners 
•of war, to Col. ]\IcKee, the British Indian Agent. 

'•Mr. Kinzie Avas not allowed to leave St. Joseph's with liis 
family, his Indian friends insisting on his remaining and en- 
•deavoring to secure some remnant of his scattered })roperty. 

* Fienclimiin. 



Hospitality of Alexander Rohiiison. 285- 

During his excursions witli tliem for that purpose, he wore the 
costume and paint of the tribe, in order to escape capture and 
perhaps death at the hands of those who wei'e still thirstinii- for 
blood. In time, however, his anxiety for his family induced him 
to follow them to Detroit, where, in the month of January, he 
was received and paroled bv Gen. Proctor. 

" Capt. and Mrs. Heald had been sent across the lake to St. 
Joseph's the day after the battle. The former had received two 
wounds, the latter seven in the eng-ao-emont. 

"Lieut. Helm, who was likewise wounded, was carried by 
some friendly Indians to their village on the Au Sable, and 
thence to Peoria, where he "was liherated by tlie intervention of 
Mr. Thomas Forsyth, the half-brother of ^Ir. Kinzie. 3[rs. 
Helm had accompanied her parents to St. Joseph, M'here they re- 
sided in the family of Alexander Pobinson,* receiving from them 
all possible kindness and hospitality for several months. 

"After their arrival in Detroit, Mrs. Helm was joined by her 
husband, when they were both arrested by order of the British 
commander, and sent on horseback, in the dead of winter, 
throuo-h Canada to Fort Georo-e on the Kiao^ara frontier. When 
they arrived at that post, there seemed no official appointed to 
receive them, and notwithstanding their long and fatiguing jour- ' 
ney, in weather the most cold and inclement, Mrs. H., a delicate 
woman of seventeen years, was permitted to sit waiting in her sad- 
dle without the gate for more than honr, before the refreshment of 
lire or food, or even the shelter of a i-oof was otlered them. 
"When Col. Sheaife, who had been absent at the time, Avas in- 
formed of this brutal inhospitalitv, he expressed the greatest in- 
dignation. He waited on Mrs. Helm immediately, apologized 
in the most courteous manner, and treated both her and Lieut. 
H. with the most considerate kindness, until, bv an excliano-e of 
prisoners, they were liberated, and found means to reach their 
friends in Steuben county, N, Y. 

" Capt. Heald had been taken prisoner by an Indian from the 
Kankakee, who had a strong personal regard for him, and who, 
when he saw the wounded and enieebled state of Mrs. H., re- 
leased her husband that he might accompany his wife to St. 
Joseph's. To the lalh;er place they were accordingly carried, a& 
has been related, by Chandonnai and his party. In the mean- 
time, the Indian who had so nobly released his prisoner, returned 
to his village on the Kankakee, where he had the mortification 
of finding that his conduct had excited great dissatisfaction 
among his band. So great was the displeasure manifested, that 

* Tlie Pottowattamie chief, so well known to many of the citizens of Chicago, 
now residing at the Aux Plaines. • ■ 



286 Ransom of The Last Survivors. 

he resolved to make a journey to St. Joseph's and reclaim his 
prisoner, 

"!Rews of his intention being brought to To-pee-nee-bee and 
Kee-po-tah, nnder wliose care the prisoners were, thej held a 
private council with Chandonnai, Mr. Kinzie, and the principal 
men of the village, the result of which was, a determination to 
send Capt. and Mrs. Heald to the island of Maclcinac, and de- 
liver them uj) to the British. 

" They were accordingly put in a bark canoe, and paddled by 
Robinson and his wife a distance of three hundred miles along 
the coast of Michigan, and surrendered as prisoners of war to 
the commanding officer at Mackinac. 

"As an instance of the procrastinating spirit of Capt. Heald, 
it may be mentioned that even after he had received certain in- 
telligence that his Indian captor was on his way from the Kan- 
kakee to St. Joseph's to retake him, he would still have delayed 
another day at that place, to make preparation for a more com- 
fortable journey to Mackinac* 

"The soldiers, with their wives and surviving children, were 
dispersed among the different villages of the Pottawattamies 
upon the Illinois, Wabash, Rock River, and at Milwaukie, until 
the following spring, when they were, for the most part, carried 
to Detroit, and ransomed. 

" Mrs. Burns, with her infant, became the prisoners of a chief, 
who carried her to his villajje and treated her with a^reat kind- 
Tjess. His wife, from jealousy of the favor shown to ' the white 
woman' and her child, always treated them with great hostility. 
On one occasion she struck the infant with a tomahawk, and 
narrowly missed her aim of putting an end to it altogether.f 
Tliey were not left long in the power of the old hag, after this 
demonstration, but on the first opportunity carried to a place of 
safety. 

" The family of Mr. Lee had resided in a house on the lake 
shore, not far from the fort. Mr. Lee was the owner of Lee's 
Place, whicli he cultivated as a farm. It was his son who ran 
down with the discharged soldier to give the alarm of ' Indians' 
at the fort on the afternoon of the 7th of April. The father, 

* Captain (subsequently Major) Heald, his wife and family, settled in the 
•country of St. Joseph, Mo., after the ■war, about 1817, where he died, about 
fifteen years since. He was respected and beloved by his acquaintance. HLs 
health was impaired by the wounds he received. — Western Annals, published in 

1850. 

t Twenty- two years after this, as I was on a journey to Chicago in the steamer 
Uncle Sam, a young woman, hearing my name, introduced herself to me, and 
raising the hair from her forehead, showed me tlie mark of the tomahawk 
which had so nearly been fatal to her. 



Black Partridge as A Rejected Lover. 2ST 

the son, and all the other nieuihers of the family, liad fallen vic- 
tims on the 15th of Ani^nst, exeept Mrs. Lee and her young 
infant. These were claimed hy Black Partridge, and carried to 
his village on the X\\ Sable. He had been particularly attached 
to a little girl of Mrs. Lee's, about twelve years of age. This 
■child ]iad been placed on ]iorse])ack for the march, and as she was 
unaccustomed to tlie exercise, she was tied fast to the saddle, lest 
by any accident she should slip off or be thrown. 

" She was within reach of the balls at tlie commencement of 
the engagement, and was severely wounded. The horse set ofi 
in a full gallop, which partly threw her, but slie was held fast by 
the bands which confined her, and hung dangling as the animal 
ran violently about. In tliis state she was met by Black Part- 
ridge, who caught the liorse and disengaged her from the saddle. 
Finding her so much wounded that she could not recover, and 
that she was suffering great agony, he put the finishing stroke to 
her at once with his tomahawk. He afterward said that this was 
tlie hardest thing he ever tried to do, but he did it because he 
•could not bear to see her suffer. 

" He took the mother and her infant to his village, where lie 
became warmlj' attached to the former — so much so, that he 
wished to marry her, but as she very naturally objected, he treated 
her with the greatest respect and consideration. He was in no 
Qiurry to release her, for he was in hopes of prevailing on her to 
become his wife. In the course of the winter her child fell ill. 
Findino; that none of the remedies within their reach were effect- 
ual. Black Partridge proposed to take the little one to Chicago, 
where there was now a French trader livinoj in the mansion of 
Mr. Kinzie, and procure some medical aid from him. Wrapping 
up his charge with the greatest care, he sat out on his journey. 

When he arrived at the residence of M. DuPin, he entered the 
Toom where he was, and carefully placed his burthen on the floor. 

" ' What have you there V asked M. Du Pin. 

" 'A young raccoon, which I have brought you as a present,' was 
the reply, and opening the pack, he showed the little sick infant. 

"When the trader had prescribed for its complaint, and Black 
Partridge was about to return to his home, he told his friend his 
proposal to Mrs. Lee to become his wife and the manner in 
\yhich it had been received. 

"M. Du Pin entertained some fears that the chief's honorable 
resolution might not hold out, to leave it to the lady herself 
whether to accept his addresses or not, so he entered at once into 
a negotiati(m for her ransom, and so effectually wrought upon 
the good feelings of Black Partridge that he consented to bring 
his fail- prisoner at once to Chicago, that she might be restored 
to her friends. 



^^^ Death-bed Contrition of Nau-non-gee. 

■ "Whether the kind trader had at the outset, any other feeling irt 
the matter than sympathy and brotherly kindness we cannot say 
— we only know that, in process of time Mrs. Lee became 
Madame Du Pin, and that the}' lived together in great happi- 
ness for many years after. 

^ " The fate of Xan-hon-gee, one of tlie chiefs of the Calumet 
village, and who is mentioned in the early part of tlie narrative, 
deserves to be recorded. 

"During the battle of the 15th of August, the chief object 
of his attack Avas one Sergeant Hays, a man from whom he had 
received many acts of kindness. 

" After Hays had received a ball through the body, this In- 
dian ran up to liim to tomahawk him, when the Sergeant, col- 
lecting his remaining strength, pierced him through" the body 
with his, bayonet. They fell together. Other Indians running 
up soon dispatched Hays, and it was not until then that his 
bayonet was extracted from the body of his adversary. 

"The wounded chief was carried "after the battle to his village 
on the Calumet, where he survived for several days. Finding 
his end approaching, he called together his young men, and en- 
Toined them in the most solemn manner, to regard the safety of 
their prisoners after his death, and to take the lives of none of 
tliem from respect to his memory, as he deserved his fate from 
the hands of those whose kindness he had so ill-requited."* 

[From Niles Register, Vol. IV, p. S2.1 

Saturday April 3d I8I0. 

Mrs. Helm, the wife of Lieut. Helm, who escaped from the butchprv of the 
pran-ison of Cliicauga by the assistance of a humane Indian, has arrived at this 
place, Bnffialo. The account of her sufFerino's during three months' slavery 
among th^' Indians and three months' imprisonment among their allies, woulcl 
make a most interesting volume. One circumstance alone l\vill mention. Dur- 
ing five days attoilshe was taken prisoner, she had not the least sustenance, and 
was compelled to drag a canoe ( barefooted and wading along the stream) in 
which there were some squaws, and when she demanded food, some flesh of her 
murdered countiymen, and a piece of Col on el "Wells' lieart was offered her. She 
knows the fact that Col. Proctor, the British commander at Maiden, bought the 
scalps of our murdered s-arrison of CJiiraiifja. and. thanks to her noble Bpirit. 
she boldly charged him with his infamy in his own house. She knows further 
from the tribe ^vith whom she was a prisoner, and who were perpetrators of 
those murders, that they intended to remain true, but that they received orders 
from the Britisli to cut off the garrison whom they were to escort. 

(This last assertion probably originated in the brain of the editor of Niles 
Register, as Mrs. Helm in her narrative brings no such arraingment against the 
British.) — AtFxiioR. 

* Mrs. Helm, who after the return of the Kinzie family to Chicago, became 
the intimate friend of Mrs. ,Tohn H. Kinzie. has drawi a vivid ]iicture of the 
Chicago massacre, seldoni equaled by a historic pen. In Wabun it has been 
reproduced iu ISIrs. Kinzie's lucid style, whose freshness can never lie equalled 
by any future historian, since the hand of time has spread its mantle of obliv- 
ion over the incidents of that day. For this reason it has been transferred tO' 
these columns. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

The British ta'ke the Offensive — Fort Wayne Beseiged hy their 
Indian Allies — Timely Warning to its Defenders — General 
Harrison Marches to its Defense — Desperate and Successful 
Defense of Fort Harrison hy Captain Taylor — Daring 
Achievement of Captain Oliver — Ar7'ival of Ge?} era I Ham- 
son at Fort Wayne — Its Beseigcrs fly — Expedition Against 
the Indian Towns on the Illinois Biver — Its Bootless Ter- 
mination — Governor Beynolds in the Ranl's — His State- 
ment — Belentless Attack on Peoria — The English, on the 
Upper Jfississippi — Black Haioh'^s Historical Narration. 

No Iniinan vision could forecast the future destiny of the 
countrj^ around the Upj^er Lakes after the sui-render of Mieliili- 
manackinac, Chicacjo and Detroit. That tlie Indians would 
ever be driven entirel}' out of the country was an event that no 
British Canadian ever, deemed possible, and accordingly Tecum- 
seh was, in the eyes of General Brock, the head and front of a 
permanent dynasty to live in tlic future on the soil. He had 
accomplished all that was required of hiui in the late campaign, 
wliich had terminated so gloriously to British arms. And now 
a new one was contemplated, which was to carry the Avar into 
the very vitals of the Northwest, by taking Fort "Wayne and 
Fort Ilarrisou, which was built by General Harrison during his 
Tippecanoe campaign. There were then no maps of the coun- 
try obtainable in the British camp; but to supply this deficiency 
Tecumseh drew a sketcli of its rivers, which indeed Avere nearly 
all that could be shown at that time. General Brock was agree- 
&h\\ surprised at his versatility of talent, and w-ith all coniidence 
counseled with liim as to future plans. Fort AVayne was the 
important objective ]K»int. and no time must be lost in seizing 
upon it, lest the Americans should reinforce the place before the 
attack was made. It was therefore ordered that the Indians 
should march against the place immediately, and environ it to 
prevent the escape of the garrison, till a British army could ar- 
rive at the spot and make its conquest certain. Prominent 
among the tribes who volunteered in this enterprise, were the 



290 Fort Wayne Besieged. 

Pottawattomies, whose achievement at Chicago had emboldened 
tliem and whetted their appetites for phinder. Tlie part they 
were to take was planned at a council at St. Joseph, where their 
chiefs met tlie Bl-itish agents, and were promised if tliej would 
lay siege to the j)lace and prevent the escape of the garrison till 
the British forces came up, they sliould be allowed to plunder 
the fort when taken. This inducement was sufficient, an.l they 
promptly joined their forces to some Sliawanese and Miamis, 
and appeared before the jjlace before August had passed. 

True to their time-honored custom, tliey made no direct attac'-, 
but bent all their efforts to gain tlie place by stratagy, kii 
the sentinels and throw the gates of the fort open to their 
braves, who all the while were crouching in a covert near by. 
But before this was to be done, the Miamis wished to save their 
friend, Antoine Bondie, a French trader who had married one of 
their tribe, and had won their affections by a residence of thirty- 
eight years among them. Metea, a Pottawattomie chief, was 
deputied to go ])rivately to his cabin and inform him of the In- 
dians intentions, and make arrangements for the rescue of liim- 
self and family. This news placed the trader in an embarassing 
situation, and he was in a dilemma to know what to do, but 
linally resolved to betray the confidence of the Indians, and even 
forfeit their protection, by revealing the plot to Major Stickuey, 
the Indian agent. This he did the next morning under an in- 
junction of secrecy, and from him the information was soon 
given to Capt. Rhea, the officer who held command of the fort. 

All the while the agent was skeptical as to the truth of the 
news, but on maturing the matter over, both he and Capt. Rhea 
concluded to take the necessary steps to meet the emergency, in 
case it should come upon them, and immediately sent a messen- 
ger to General Harrison, then at Cincinnati, and one to Governor 
Meigs, of Ohio, asking assistance, and a third messenger to Ft. 
Harrison, to warn its inmates of danger. This done, preparations 
for defending the fort were made.* 

While the slender garrison are hotly pressed by their swarthy 
foes, a furious attack was made on Fort Harrison. It was situ- 
ated on the Wabash river, ten miles above its present intersec- 
tion of the eastern boundary line of Illinois. On the 3d of Sep- 
tember the Sliawanese had visited the Pigeon Roost settlement, 
not far from the place, with a destructive raid, in which 20 per- 
sons were killed, whose scalps were soon dangling from the belts 
of these merciless knights of the tomahawk. 

This fresh alarm drove the immediate settlers around Fort 
Harrison within its walls for protection. Young Capt. Taylor, 

*Bnce's History of Ft. Wayne. 



Brave Defense of Fort Ilarrisoh. 21)1 

the same who afterwar Is became President of tlie Tjinted States, 
held command of the place, to defend which he had but 18 men. 
jSTine women and'their children had taken refuge within its walls, 
in a fearful suspense, for the forests were alive with Indians on 
the war-path. On the night of the 4th, at 11 o'clock, the inmates 
of the fort were aroused from their disquiet slumbers by the 
re]iort of a rifle. Captain Taylor sprang from his couch, and 
found that the shot came from one of his sentinels firing at the 
skulking foe, who, in great numbers, immediately began the at- 
tack. One of the block houses was soon set on fire, and two 
panic stricken soldiers leaped over the barricades and fled into 
the forest for an asylum from the scalping knife, while the terri- 
fied women pressed their babes to their breasts in despair. 

Youns: Tavlor's voice now rose above the din of yells without 
and wailiiigs within, giving orders to throw off the roof of the 
buildin<i: which connncted the burning block house with the main 
defenses. This arrested the progress of the flames. The sharp- 
shooters now kept the attackers at bay till morning, when they 
•withdrew, to the great relief of the garrison. 

Of the two soldiers who forsook the fort in a panic, one was 
killed and the other after being wounded took refuge behind a 
barrel close by the pallisades. On the 13th, Capt. Taylor found 
means to send a messenger to General Harrison, and on the 16th 
lie was rescued from his perilous position by Colonel Hopkins 
then, at the head of 1200 volunteers, on their way to the Illi- 
nois territory. Turning again to Ft. Wayne, we find both bei; 
seigers and beseiged waiting for reinforcements. The Indians 
kept up their wily devices wherewith to gain peaceable admittance 
to the fort in sufficient numbers to overpower the sentinals, and 
even the old friendly chief, Winnemac, was a leading spirit in 
this attempted treachery. At one time he was admitted under a 
white 'flag, with thirteen of his comrades, but he found the 
guard ready to overpower his band when the critical moment 
came, and the discomfited dissemblers retired by virtue of the 
same flag by which they had gained admittance. 

The next day two soldiers outside of the fort were i^red upon 
by the Indians and both killed. This was an overt act, and 
made any future pretentions of friendship, on the part of the 
(ndians a gossamer fabric of pretense. The beleaguered garri- 
son, which numbered but 80 men, commanded by a drunken 
parvenu, and surrounded by a countless host of savages thirst- 
ing for their blood, were in desperate extremities. While thus 
eking out their hours of unremitting watchfulness, a yell of 
trinm])h saluted their ears from the Tu>rt]iern gate, and through 
its opening ajar rusiied their old friend William Oliver ;:nd 
three friendly Indians at his back. His story was soon told to 



292 Olwer Penetrates Throxujh the Enemy's Lines. 

the anxious garrison, who had not I'eceived any tidings from tlie 
outside world since their messengers liad been sent to General 
Harrison to apprise him of their danger. Oliver was at Cincin- 
nati on a brief visit, when the news of the attack on Fort 
Wayne came to General Harrison, and lie instantly resolved to 
hasten back to the beleaguered post, of M'hicli lie was sutler, to 
inform them that Harrison would soon arrive at the place with 
sufficient force to raise the seige, and to assist in its defense till 
he came. The adventure was a desperate one, which could only 
be conceived by a bold spirit of luirdihood which pioneer life 
in that day had brought into being on the frontier. Starting 
from Cincinnati immediately on his mission, he pursued the 
forest road to the St. Mary's river, where Thomas Worthington 
commanded an encampment of Ohio militia (the same who 
afterwards became governor of Ohio). To him Oliver commu- 
nicated his plan, and animated by Oliver's heroism, Worthington 
joined him with OS militia and 16 friendly Shawanese. At the 
head of this force, the two bold leaders advanced down the St. 
Mary's river towards the place, but on the second day 36 of the 
Militia and ten of tlieir Indian allies deserted. 

One day's march now brou£:ht the reduced but courageous band 
within the hearing of the enemies' guns, who had crouched 
around Fort Wayne on every side, to prevent the escape of the 
garrison. 

. What was to be done? To attempt with this small force to 
pierce the lines of the enemy by a direct attack was not to he 
thought of, and Oliver, Avith three Indian companions, determined 
to steal their wa}^ to the fort through grounds not occupied by the 
besiegers. Pursuing the main road leading to the fort, five miles 
distant from it they found the enemies' rilie-pits, which, happily 
ibr Oliver and his party, were not occupied, but fearing to ad- 
vance further along the road, they, made a detour to the east 
through the woods, and came to the banks of the Maumee, one 
and a half miles below the fort. Here they tied their horses in a 
thicket, and crept carefully toward the fort to see if it was still 
in possession of the Americans. After a nearer approach, they 
beheld the American flag deviated above the bastions, and soon 
afterwards saw the measui-ed pace of the sentinels at their post. 
The party then returned, and mounting their horses, put them 
into a keen run till the inside of tlie fort was safely reached. 
Harrison is coming; this was the news he brought to the almost 
spent garrison.* 

Harrison had just received from the governor of Kentucky the 
appointment of Major-Gcneral by brevet, and to him was given 

* Howes' Great West ; Brice's ni:?tory of Fort Wayne. 



General Harrison Relieves Fort Wayne. 293 

the command of 2,000 Kentucky troops, which the patriotic gov-' 
•ernor had raised for the defense of the Northwest. To these 
were added 700 Ohio vohinteers, Avho joined the Kentucky forces 
^t Piqua, Ohio, from whence they advanced toward the objective 
point with all possible speed. When within seventeen miles of 
the place, General Harrison wrote to the Secretary of War as 
follows: "The necessary arrangements foi" the procuring of 
provisions and ammunition, added to the trouble of establishing 
au issuing commissary department, in consequence of the failure 
•of the contractor, has prevented me from i-eaching Ft. Wayne as^ 
soon by one day as I expected. I shall, however, reach it to-mor- 
row; but I have every reason to believe it will not be without a 
severe contest. No information has been received from the fort 
since the 3d inst., and should the Indians have been assisted by 
a British detachment, I fear it would not have been able to hold 
■out. A small detachment Mdiich I sent to endeavor to peiietrate 
to the fort has just returned, without accomplishing their object, 
although they defeated a small party of the enemy."* 

The next dav, the 12th of September, General Harrison arrived 
•^t the place, when the Indians, as tliey had not been reinforced 
>by the British, fled in hot haste, some to their wilderness lodges, 
and others to the military headquarters of tlieir English Father, 
still breathinfj veno^eance. Since the destruction of Chicao^o there 
were no white inhabitants in the whole territory of Illinois, north 
of a line drawn from Shawneetown to Greenville, Bond county, 
thence to the Mississippi river, a little north of Alton, except 
some sparse settlements on the west bank of the Wabash, oppo- 
site Vincennes, the old town of Peoria, which had never been 
^Drought within the jurisdiction of the territorial government, 
-and Prairie du Cliien, which was then within the limits of Illi- 
nois Territory. At the latter place lived thirty-seven families of 
mixed nationalities, consisting of French, English, half-breeds and 
Americans. An Indian Agent named Campbell, appointed by the 
governor of Illinois, acted as magistrate, to dispense justice, and 
appears to have exercised these functions to the entire satisfac- 
tion of his motley charge. Among his judicial records, which 
are still extant, are his fees for marrying, which were 100 lbs. of 
flour, while his fees for divorce were 200 Ibs.f 

The whole territory was divided into two counties — St. Clair 
and Randolph — and JSTinian Edwards was governor. It contained 
12,284 inhabitants, 168 of whom \vere colored slaves. 

While Gen. Harrison was marching to the relief of Ft.Wiiyne, an 



"Dawson, p. 290 
T.See Eaiiy tiisto: ^ 
5tiito Historical Society 



T.SeeEaiiy History of Prairie du Chien, by D. S. Durrie, Librarian ot the 
L-ical Society of Wisconsin. 



,294 ExjpeditiGn Against Indian Towns on Illinois River. 

expedition was set on foot ai^ainst the Ivickapoo towns on the- 
Illinois river, which was to be composed of 2,000 men, raised by 
Governor Shelby, of Kentncky, and 350 United States E,an^r& 
and Illinois volnnteers, stationed at Camp Russell, where Ed- 
wardsville,' 111. now stands, subject to the orders of jSTinian Ed- 
wards, then Governor of Illinois. The command of the Ken- 
tucky volunteers was given to General Hopkins, who was to move 
up tiie Wabash, destroy the Indian towns on its west bank, and 
then march westward across the country, to form a junction with 
the Rangers from Camp Russell. He reached Ft. Harrison on 
the 26th of October, 1812, where Captain Taylor, with his little- 
handful of men, who had just distinguished themselves by their 
desperate defense of the place, joined his expedition, and he 
turned his course to the west into the Illinois prairies. After- 
continuing his march three or four days, the signs of insubordi- 
nation became apj^arent among the restive spirits which composed 
his army. Most of them were raw recruits, who had never seen 
a shot fired in earnest. Many of them, when they enlisted, mis- 
took a spirit of wild adventui-e for patriotism; but a few days of 
camp discipline, with the possibility of a tough Indian battle, or 
worse, an ambuscade, before them, became unruly. This spirit 
unfortunately spread from rank to rank, till a majority of the- 
arniy shared it, and General Hopkins was forced to retui-n, with- 
out making any farther attempts to form the expected junction* 
with the forces from Camp Russell. 

Meantime the forces under Governor Edwards marched single- 
handed against the Indian towns on the Illinois river. Says Gov- 
ernor Reynolds, in his history of his own times: " Colonel Russell 
marched in the campaign and seemed to take, considerably, the- 
immediate command under Governor Edwards. Judge Pope,. 
Kelson Rector and a Lieut. McLaughlin, of the army, acted as 
aids. Colonel Russell was a plain old man dressed in Kentucky 
jeans or linsey, seemed to need no aids and had none, but was a. 
good and efficient officer himself. We left Camp Russell, 
marched up the northwest side of Cahokia creek, nearly to its 
source, thence across the prairie to Macoupin creek, not far above- 
the present Carlinville, The privates (and myself one) did not 
know or care much where we were marched, whether into dan- 
ger or a frvilic. We crossed the Sangamon river east of the- 
present Springfield, and passed not far on the east of the Elk- 
heart Grove. We next reached an old Indian village on Sugar 
creek, where we saw on the bark of the wigwams much painting, 
generally the Indians scalping the whites. We set it in flames,. 
and traveled in the night towards Peoria. We were afraid that 
the Indians would know of our approach and leave the villages. 
We traveled on till towards midnight and camped. We had 



Black Partridge's Village Attacked. 295 

guides along who conducted tlie army to tlie village of Potta- 
wattomie Indians known as the Black Partridge Village,* situate 
at the Illinois river bluif opposite the upper end of Peoria 
lake. We camped within four or five miles of the village, and 
all was silent as a graveyard — as we expected a night attack as 
was the case at Tippecanoe. When troops are silent, sulky and 
savage, they will fight. One thing I recalled, I had a wliite 
coat on me, and I considered it too white at night. I hulled 
this coat off in double-quick time. It is said every one with a 
white coat on in the battle of Tippecanoe was killed. The next 
morning in a fog, our company of spies met two Indians, as we 
supposed, and our captain fired on them. Many of us, before 
he shot, begged for mercy for the Indians, as they wanted to sur- 
render. But Judyf said anybody will surrender when they can- 
not help it, and that he did not leave home to take prisoners. I 
saw tlie dust rise off the Indian's leather shirt when Judy', bullet 
entered liis body. The wounded Indian commenced singing his 
death song, the blood streaming out of his mouth and nose. He 
was reeling, and a man from the main army, Mr. Wright, 
came up within a few yards, but the Indian had just pointed his 
gun at some of.us near him, when we darted off our horses, quick 
as thought, and presented the horses between him and us. But 
Wright was either surprised, or something else, and renniinedon 
his horse. The Indian, as quick as a steel-trap, shot Wright, and 
expired. The other Indian, supposed to be a warrior, proved to 
be a squaw; but before the fact was known, many guns were fired 
at her. It is singular that so many guns fired at the squaw 
missed her, but when the whites surrounded her and knew her 
sex, all was over. She cried terribly, and was taken prisoner, and 
at last delivered over to her nation. Many of the French in the 
army understood her language, and made her as happy as possi- 
ble. In this small matter I never fired my gun, as I saw no oc- 
casion for it." 

The foregoing words of Governor ReynoWs have been used to 
show the ruling spirit of the expedition, which was the first one 
ever sent against the Indians of Illinois by the Americans. After 
relating these adventures, which certainly reflect no credit on those 
engaged in them, the same historian proceeds to give a history 
of the burning of Peoria by Captain Craig, and says: 

"While the army wt;re in the neighborhood of the old vil- 
lage of Peoria, Captain Craig had his boat lying in the lake ad- 
jacent to Peoria. * * * The Captain, supposing the few in- 

* The same who the previous yenr had saved the life o' Mrs. Helm, as told 
in the relation of The Chicago Massiicre. 

t One of the spi"s. 



296 Peoria Attacked. 

habitants of Peoria favored the Indians, burnt tlie village. Thom- 
as Forsyth, Esq., was in the village at the time, acting as Indian 
agent, appointed by the government, but Craig and none others 
knew it, except at Washington city. It was supposed by the 
President that Mr, Forsyth would be more serviceable to' both 
sides if his old friends, the Indians, did not know his situation. 
He acted the honorable ])art to ameliorate the horrors of war on 
both sides, and risked his life often amongst the Indin- ■. to ob- 
tain some of the prisoners who had been captured at the massacre 
at Chicago. In the rage of Captain Craig, he placed tuc inhab- 
itants of Peoria (all lie could capture) on board his boat, and 
landed them on the bank of the river, below Alton. These poor 
French were in a starving condition, as they were turned away 
from their homes, and left their stock and provisions. They were 
landed in the woods — men, women and children — without shelter 
or food." * 

Before the army of Governor Edwards left the neighborhood, 
it entered the village of Black Partridge, opposed only by a few 
shots from the swamps around it. The warriors liad fled, and a 
few wretched squaws and cliildren were all the prisoners taken. 
The village, with its stores of corn, was burned. The rangers 
only remained a few hours, but while there a stately warrior 
approached the place until within rifle shot, discharged his gun 
at. the invaders, laughed defiantly, and walked away with the 
lofty gait tliat only an Indian can assume. This brave was sup- 
posed to be Black Partridge. 

While these events were transpiring in Indiana and Illinois, 
the English were taking steps to secure the alliance of the Sacs 
and Foxes, who then occupied the country along Rock river. 
Robert Dickson, an English fur trader, who lived at Prairie du 
Chien, was the English agent to accomplish this design ; and to 
this end he visited all the tribes along the Mississippi. Black 
Hawk was then a young chief of more than common promise, 
and readily became a disciple to the teacliings of the English 
emissary. His remarkable career now began, which made him a 
cons])icuous actor in the last Indian war in Illinois, which ter- 
minated in 1832. The Sacs and Foxes, of whom he was a subor- 
dinate chief, were then in their glory and prime, and as a bulwark 



* Captain Craig's expedition was executed'by the authority of Governor Ed- 
wards. It consisted of an armed boat which was rowed or polled up the 
Illinois river, for the purpose of takinor Peoria, where some of the earlv French 
settlers lived in harmonious relations with the Indians, ana were accused of fur- 
nislung them the means wlierewith to make war on the Americans. Mr. Craig-, 
;n ^ii.-^ official de.'tpatclies, admits that he nb'.acted the French inhabitant^; Irom 
i'eoria, and that lie made them fur:ii.-;.i iheir own rations. fcJee Balance History 
of Peoria, pp. oO, ;jl. * 



Black Hawk's Narration. . 297 

of defense against them, the United States had built Fort Madi- 
son in 1804, on the west bank of tlie Mississipj)i, o])j)osite to the 
Des Moines Kapids. The consent of tlie Sacs and Foxes for the 
construction of it had been obtained under a pretense that it was 
only to be used as a trading post. 

Tlie following extract of a statement from Black Hawk, is a 
concise piece of documentary history, which adds interest to the 
points treated on by general history, and furnishes some items 
not noticed by any other writer. His statement begins by dis- 
claiming against a treaty executed at St. Louis in 1804, by which 
his people, unwittingly, as he says, relincpiished a part of their 
territory, after which, his story runs as follows. It is copied ver- 
batim from Smith's History of Wisconsin : 

'• Black Hawk proceeds to relate, that some time after this treaty 
Avas made, a war chief with a party of soldiers came up the Mis- 
sissippi in keel-boats, and encamped a short distance above the head 
jfjf the Des Moines Eapids, and commenced cutting timber and 
building houses; this was at the site of Fort Madison, and within 
the country ceded by the treaty. He also says, that council after 
council was held in the Indian villages, to ascertain what was 
the intention of the Americans in building at that place, and 
having learned that the soldiers had great guns with them, he 
and a number of his people went down the river to see what was 
xloing, and they found the whites were building a fort. The chiefs 
Jield a council with the officers of the party, which Black Hawk 
<lid not attend; but he says, " he understood that the Americans 
war chief had said, they were building houses for ?i trader vi\\o 
was coming there to live, and would sell the Indians goods very 
•cheap, and that the soldiers were to remain to keep him company." 
The Indians were pleased at this im^ormation, but doubted its 
truth, and were anxious that the building should be discontinued, 
jind that the soldiers should descend the river again. Many 
more Indians arrived, the whites became alarmed, and an attempt 
was made by a dancing ])arty of the Indians to enter the fort by 
stratagem, but it was frustrated; and Bl;.ck Hawk acknowledges 
that if it had been successful, and the Indians had got into the 
fort, all the whites would have been killed, as the British soldiers 
had been, at Mackinaw, many years before. 

The Indians returned to Rock Island, and the fort party re- 
ceived a reinforcement from St. Louis. 

Black Hawk proceeds with the following relation: — "Soon 
after our return from Fort Madison, runners came to our village 
from the Shawnee Prophet, (while others were disjiatched by him 
to the villages of the Winnebagoes,) with invitations for us to 
»neet him on tlie Wabash. Accordingly a party went from each 
tillage. 



298 Black Hawlc's Narration. 

" All of our part}' returned, among whom came a Prophet, who 
explained to ns the bad treatment the different nations of Indians 
had received from the Americans, by giving them a few presents, 
and taking their hind from them, I remember well his saying, 
'If yon do not join your friends on tlie AVabash, the Americans 
will take this very village from you'. I little thought then that 
his words would come true. We agreed not to join liim, and he 
returned to the Wabash, where a party of Winnebagoes had ar- 
rived, and prejmrations were making for war; a battle soon after 
ensued, in which several Winnebagoes were killed. As soon a& 
their nation heard of this, they started war parties in different 
directions: one to the mining country, one to Prairie du Chien, 
and another to Fort Madison. This last returned by our village, 
and exhibited several scaps which they had taken. Their success 
induced several other parties to go against the fort. We arrived 
in the vicinity during the night. The spies that we had sent out 
several days before, to watch the movements of those at the gar- 
rison, gave the following information: 'that a keel-boat had ar- 
rived from below, that evening, with seventeen men; that there 
were about fifty men in the fort, and that they marched out 
every morning at sunrise, to exercise.'" 

Black Hawk then relates his stratagems to distroy the soldiers 
when they came out, and for the Indians to rush into the fort: 
they were unsuccessful: three whites were killed — the Indians 
besieged the fort for three days, during which time an attempt 
was made to set fire to it, by means of arrows. It succeeded so 
far as to fire the buildings several times, without effect, as the 
fire was soon extinguished. The ammunition of the Indians beins: 
expended, and finding they could not take the fort, they returned 
home, having had one Winnebago killed, and one wounded, dur- 
ing the siege. 

Soon after their return, news reached them that a war was- 
going to take place between the British and Americans. Run- 
ners continued to arrive from different tribes, all confii-ming the 
report of the expected war. The British agent. Colonel Dickson, 
was holding talks with, and making presents to the different 
tribes. Bhick Hawk says — " I had not made up ray mind 
whether to join the British, or remain neutral." But he soon 
afterwards took an active part with the British, having been, as 
he alleges, "forced into war by being deceived." His own ac- 
count of the causes of his conduct is as follows: — 

"Several of the chiefs and head men of the Sacs and Foxes 
were called upon to go to Washington, to see their Great Father. 
On their return they related what had been said and done. 
They said the Great Father wished them, in the event of a war 
taking place with England, not to interfere on either side, but to 



Black Hawk's Narration. 2011 

remain neutral. He did not want our help, but wislied us to hunt 
and support our families and live in peace. He said that British 
traders would not be permitted to come on the Mississippi to 
furnish us with goods, but we should be well supplied by an 
American trader. Our chiefs then told him that the British 
traders always gave us credits in the fall for guns, powder, and 
goods, to enable us to hunt and clothe our families. He replied, 
that the trader at Fort Madison* would have plenty of goods; 
that we should go there in the fall, and he would supply us on 
credit, as the British traders had done. The party gave a good 
account of what they had seen, and the kind treatment they 
received. 

" This information pleased us all very much. We all agreed 
to follow our Great Father's advice, and not intei'fere with the- 
war. In a short time we were ready to start to Fort Madison to 
get our supply of goods, that we might proceed to our hunting: 
grounds. AVe passed merrily down the river, all in high spirits. 
I had determined to spend the winter at my old favorite hunt- 
ing ground on Skunk River, and left part of my corn and mats 
at its mouth, to take up when I returned; others did the same. 
Next morning we arrived at the fort and made our encampment. 
Myself and principal men paid a visit to the war-chief, at the 
fort. He received us kindly and gave us some tobacco, pipes, 
and provisions. The trader came in, and we all rose and shook 
hands with him, for on him all our dependence was placed, to- 
enable us to hunt and thereby support our families. We waited 
a longtime, expecting the trader would tell us that he had orders- 
from our Great Father to supply us with goods; but he said" 
nothing on the subject. I got up, and told him in a short speech^ 
what we had come for, and hoped he had plenty of goods to- 
supply us, and told him he should be well paid in the spring; 
and conchided by informing him that we had determined to fol- 
low our Great Father's advice, and not go to war. 

" He said he was happy to hear that we intended to remain at 
peace. That he had a large quantity of goods; and that if Ave 
made a good hunt, we should be well supplied; but remarked 
that he had recieved no instructions to furnish us anything on 
credit — nor could he give us any, without receiving the pay for 
them on the spot. 

'' We informed him what onr Great Father had told our chiefs 
at Washington, and contended that he could supply us if he 
would, believing that our Great Father always spoke the truth. 
But the war-chief said, that the trader could not furnish us on 
credit, and that he had i-eceived no instructions from our Great 



On the Mississippi, in the Sac and Fox country. 



300 Black HawVs Narration. 

Father at Washington. "We left the fort dissatisfied, and went to 
our camp. What was now to be done we knew not. We ques- 
tioned the party that brought us the news from our Great Father, 
tiiat we should get credit for our winter supplies at this place. 
They still told the same story, and insisted upon its truth: Few 
•of us slept that night; all was gloom and discontent. 

" In the morning a canoe was seen ascending the river. It 
soon arrived, bearing an express, who brought intelligence that 
La Gutrie,* a British trader, had landed at Rock Island with two 
boats loaded with goods, and requested us to come up immedi- 
ately, because he had news ""for us, and a variety of presents. 
The express presented us with tobacco, pi])es, and wampum. 

" The news ran througli our camp like lire in the prairie. Our 
lodges were soon taken down, and all started for Rock Island. 
Here ended all hopes of our remaining at peace, having been 
forced into war by being deceived. 

" Our party were not long in getting to Rock Island. When 
we came in sight and saw tents pitched, we yelled, fired our'guns, 
and commenced beating our drums. Guns were immediately 
iired at the Island, returning our salute, and a British flag 
hoisted. We landed and were cordially received by La Gutrie, 
and then smoked the pipe with him. After which he made a 
speech to us, that had been sent by Colonel Dickson, and gave us 
a number of handsome presents, a large silk flag, and a keg of 
rum, and told us to retire, take some refreshments and rest our- 
selves, as he would have more to say to us on the next day. 

" We according retired to our lodges, which had been put up 
in the mean time, and spent the night. The next morning we 
called upon him, and told him that we wanted his two boats 
load of goods to divide among our people, for which he should be 
well paid in the spring, with furs and peltries. He consented; 
told us to take them and do as we pleased with them. While 
our people were dividing the goods, he took me aside and informed 
me that Colonel Dickson was at Green Bav with twelve boats, 
loaded with goods, guns, and ammunition, and wished me to 
raise a party immediatey and go to him. He said that our friend, 
the trader at Peoria, was collecting the Pottawatoraies, and would 
be there before us. I communicated this information to my 
braves, and a party of two hundred warriors were soon collected 
and ready to depart. On our arrival at Green Bay we found a 
, large encampment, and were well received by Colonel Dickson 
and the war-cliiefs that were with him. He gave us plenty of 
provisions, tobacco, and pipes, and said he would hold a council 
with us the next day. 

*La Gutrie, or La Goterie, was an Inih'an trader at Portage Has Sioux — a 
Canadian Frenchman, prob:il)!y otin'x-il !i!ooil. 



Black Ilawlvs Narration. 301 

" In the encampment I found a large number of Pottawatomies, 
Kickapoos, Ottawas, and Winnehagoes. I visited all their 
camps and found them in higli spirits. They had all received 
new guns, ammunition, and a variety of clothing. In the even- 
ing a messenger came to me, to visit Colonel Dicksun. I went 
to his tent, in which there were two other war-chiefs, and an in- 
terpreter. He received me with a hearty :sliake of the hand, and 
presented me to the other chiefs, who shook my hand cordially 
and seemed much pleased to see me. After I w^as seated. Colonel 
Dickson said, ' General Black Hawk, I sent for you to explain to- 
yon wdiat we are going to do, and the reasons that have brought 
us here. Our friend La Gutrie informs us in the letter yuii 
brought from him, what has lately taken place. You will now 
have to hold us fast bv the hand. Your English Father has 
found out that the Americans want to take your country Ironi 
you, and has sent me and his braves to drive them back to their 
own country. He has likewise sent a large quantity of arms and 
ammunition, and we w^ant all your warriors to join us.' 

" He then placed a medal round my neck, and gave me a 
paper,* (which I lost in the late war,f) and a silk flag saying, 
'You are to command all the braves that will leave here the 
day after to-morrow, to join our braves near Detroit." I told 
him I was very much disappointed, as I wanted to descend the 
Mississijjpi, and make war upon the settlements. He said he 
had been ordered to lay the country waste around St. Louis; 
that he had been a trader on the Mississippi many years; had 
always been kindly treated, and could not consent to send brave 
men to murder w^omen and children. That there were no 
soldiers there to fight; but where he was going to send us, there- 
were a number of soldiers, and if Vi^e defeated them, the Missis- 
sippi country should be ours. I was pleased with this speech; it 
was spoken b}^ a brave. 

" The next day, arms and ammunition, tomahawks, knives, and 
clothing, were given to my band. We had a great feast in the< 
evenini;, and the mornin<r followinir, I started with about five 
hundred braves to join the British army. The British war-chief 
accompanied us. We passed Chicago. The fort had been evac- 
uated by the American soldiers, who had marched for Fort 
Wayne. They were attacked a short distance from that fort and 
defeated.X The}'- had a considerable quantity of powder in the 
fort at Chicago, whicli they had promised to the Indians; but the 

*This papor was found at the battle of Bad Axe — it was a certificate of his good; 
behavior, and attachment to the British, 
t In 1832. 
^ Slaughtered, being defenceless. 



302 Black Hawk^s Narration. 

night before thej raarelied they destroyed it. I think it was 
thrown into the well If they had fultilled their word to the In- 
dians, I think they wonld haye crone safe. 

" On our arriyal I found that the Indians liad seyeral prisoners, 
I adyised them to treat them welL We continued our march and 
ioined tlie British army below Detroit, and soon after had a iioht. 
The Americans fouo-ht well, and droye us with considerable loss. 
I was surprised at this, as I had been told* that the Americans 
could not light. 

" Our next moyement was against a fortified place. I was 
stationed with my braves to prevent any person going to or 
coming from the fort. I found two men taking care of cattle, 
and took them prisoners. I would not kill them, but delivered 
them to the British war-chief. Soon after, several boats came 
down the river full of American soldiers. They landed on the 
opposite side, took the British batteries, and pursued the soldiers 
that had left them. They went too far without knowing the for- 
ces of the British, and were defeated. I hurried across the river, 
anxious for an opportunity to show the courage of my braves; 
but before we reached the ground all was over. The British had 
taken many prisoners, and the Indians were killing them. I im- 
mediately put a stop to it, as I never thought it brave, but cow- 
. ardly, to kill an unarmed and helpless enemy.f 

" We remained here some time. I cannot detail what took 
place, as I was stationed with my braves in the woods. It ap- 
peared, liowever, that the British could not take this fort,:*: for 
we were marched to another, some distance off. When we ap- 
proached it, I found it a small stockade, || and concluded that 
there were not many men in it. The British war-chief sent a 
flag; Colonel Dickson§ carried it and returned. He said a young 
war-chief •[ commanded, and would not give up without fighting. 
Dickson came to me and said, ' Yon will see to-morrow how 
easily we will take that fort.' I was of opinion that they would 
take it; but wlien the morning came I was disappointed. The 
British advanced, commenced an attack, and fought like braves; 
but by braves in the fort were defeated, and a great number killed. 
The Britisli army were making preparations to retreat. I was 
now tired of being with them, our success being bad, and having 
got no plunder. I determined on leaving them and returning to 

* By the British. 

t (ieneral Proctor commanded the British — his brutal conduct is well known 
in history. 
X Fort Meigs. 
11 Fort Stephenson. 

§ He is mistaken in the name — Chambers and Mason carried the flag. 
^ Lieutenant Croghan. 



BlacJc Jlaivk's Nari-atlon. 303 

Rock Island, to see wliat had become of mv wife and children, as 
I had not heard from them since I started. That nioht I took 
about twenty of my braves and left the British camp for home. 
AVe met no person on our journey until we reached the Illinois 
Kiver." 

The foregoino- piece of history from Black Hawk, is certified 
to by Antoine L. Claire, United States interpreter, dated at the 
Indian Agency, Rock Island, Oct. 16th, 1S32, as copied from 
^Smith's Documentary History of Wisconsin, Yol. III. The re- 
niaining part of his statement refers to the Sac war of 1832, and 
will be noticed in its proper place. 

The appearance of the British on the Upper Mississippi, and 
their threatened invasion of Southern Illinois, is verified by Black 
Hawk's statement, and without doubt, the fear of such a calamity 
was tlie chief incentive to Governor Edward's attack on Peoria, 
ai\d the Indian towns adjacent. At that time the British had 
received no check in their victorious career, Michigan and Wiscon- 
sin both being in their possession, Avhile the Indian tribes of tlie 
country were largely inclined to join their fortunes with them, as 
the best means by which to preserve their hunting grounds from 
the greed of their white neighbors. That Illinois was spared such 
an invasion, was due to the activity with which the Americans 
were at the same time pnshing the campaign against Detroit, 
under General Harrison, to oppose whom all the British forces 
:and their Indian allies finally proved insuflScient.* 

The war soon began to rage on the Niagara border, as well as 
along the Detroit, and the death of General Brock, who was slain 
in battle here, was the severest blow the British had yet received. 
General Proctor, who was opposed to General Harrison in the 
famous campaign of 1813, was deficient in those high and sol- 
dierly qualities which distinguished General Brock, who had 
done so much honor to English arms in the campaign of 1812, 
wliich had terminated in the surrender of General Hull. The tide 
vwas now turning, as will be seen in succeeding pages. 

•*See Reynolds' Hist, of his own times, p. 130. 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

General Harrison Appointed, to the Command of the North- 
western Army — Ten Thousand Men Raised, to Reclaim De- 
troit and Invade Canada — A Wilderness of Mud Interposeft 
hetween the Combatants — General Winchester Reaches the 
Rapids of the Maumee — Advances to Frenchtown, on the 
River Raisin — Battle of the River Raisin, Ending in De- 
feat, Capitulation and Treacherous Slaughter of War Pris- 
oners — Fort Meigs Built at the Rapids — General Proctor 
Advances Against the Place — Desperate Attack and Success- 
ful Defense of the Post — The British Retreat and Attack 
Ft. Stephenson — The Masked Six-pounder and, its Fatal 
Effects — Rout of the British — The War Transferred to Can- 
ada — The American War Fleet Sails from Erie — The Naval 
Battle — The American Army in Canada — Battle of the 
Thames — Tecumseh Slain — Michigan Reclaimed — Peace. 

The last campaign was now at hand, which was substantiallv- 
to complete the conquest of the Northwest, from the Indians, 
who np to this time had not entirely relinquished the hope that 
they could establish a permanent boundary between themselves 
and the whites, which should stop farther encroachments on their 
teri'itory. This had been the early hope of Tecumseh, in which 
fatal dream he was at least not disheartened in his confidential 
councils with the British. In him Avas centered the last hopes 
of the Indians, and he may be set down as the last of that illus- 
trious line of chiefs whose eloquence and commanding power, and 
inflexible resolution have challenged admiration, not only froin- 
the world, but irom the foes against whom thev fought. Un- 
der him the red man was still powerful, though tainted with the 
vices of civilization, without being elevated by its virtues. 
f On the part of tlie white settlers all eyes were turned towards 
General Harrison, whose star had risen the 3-ear before on the 
field of Tippecanoe, and under |>ressurc of an intelligent, ]Jopu- 
lar Mall he was appointed commander-in-chief of the North- 
western army, on the 17th of September. 

This news reached him on the 24th, Avhile at Piqua, on his way 
to relieve Ft. Wayne, at the head of 2,000 Kentucky volunteers, 
as told in the foregoing cluqiter. At his disposal were placed 
10,000 men, composed of \T>lunteers from Virginia. Pennsylvania, 



Advance to The Maumee JRapids. 305 

Kentuclxj, Ohio and Indiana, toi^etlier with a re<;iinent from tlie 
reguhir army. Tlie full quota liad been raised, and in Kentucky 
the backwoods men, brimming over with patriotism, came for- 
ward in such numbers, that man^- had to be refused admittajice 
into the service after tlie ranks were lull. The instructions to 
General Harrison, were lirst to provide protection to the frontier, 
after which Detroit Avas to be tahen, ]\Iiohigain reclainuHl from 
British rule, and lastly Canada was to be invaded. This was an 
undertaking of no small magnitude; but western blood was u]), 
and nothing short of its fuliillment would satisfy the frontierers. 
The only posts the Americans held on the entii-e chain of the 
lakes, were Buifalo, Erie, Cleveland and Sandusky, an}- one of 
which were ever liable to a hostile visitation from the English 
fleet on the lakes. The volunteers were impatient to come to 
battle with the British, but ere tins could be brought about, a 
broad wilderness had to be traversed, whose sjjongy soil was an 
almost bottomless pool of mud iu the low grounds, and M'hose 
unbridged streams with their alhnial margins, were a treacherous 
path for the ponderous machinery of war. To o\ercome these 
obstacles, Harrison immediately set himself to work. The Tvapids 
of the Maumee was the sti-ategic point to be made the base of 
his movements, and he ga\e orders to the dirt'cront army corjDS to 
])roceed to this place. Of these there were three detatchments, 
one to march by the way of Upper Sandusky, another by Urbana 
and a third by tiie way of the Auglaize river. Each of these 
divisions had struggled through the oozv savannas with whicli the 
forest abounded, as fast as their zeal and muscle could carry them, 
but so slow was their progress that it was not till the 10th of 
January, 1813, that the Ivapids were reached by the Adrance 
corps, led by General Windiest •'^r, while General Harrison him- 
self was Ptill at Ujiper Sandusky, with the right wing of the army, 
and General Tui:)per, of whom McAfee, tlie cotemporary histoi-ian, 
speaks very disparagingly, was at Ft. McArther with the Centre. 
The following is copied from Dawson's Life of Harrison: 

"The roads were bad l)e3-ond description; none but. thos(? who hiive a(.'timlly 
Been tlie state of the country, seem ever to have formed a corri'ct estimate of the 
difiiculties to be encountered. The road from Loramie's blockhouse to St. Mary's, 
and thence to Defiance, was one continuous swamp, knee-deep on the ]iack- 
horses, and np to the hubs of the wagon. It was found impossible iu some 
instances to get even the en>pty wagons along, and many were left in the mire, 
the wagroner.s beimr glad to g'et off with the horses alive. Sometimes tin- quai-- 
termaster, taking' advantage of a temporary freeze, would send off a convoy, 
which would be swamjftd by a thaw ere it reached its destination. These 
natural difficulties were also increased by a great deficiency of funds :ind inade- 
quacy of the other resources which wererer|uisite in tlie quartermaster'.s depart- 
ment. The only persons who could be procured to act as pack-liorse drivers, 
were generally the most woiihless creatui-es in society, who took care neither of 
the horses nor the goods with which they were entrusted. The horses were of 



306 Battle of The Ricer Raisin. 

course poon brolcen down, and many of the packs lost. The teams hired to haul 
were also commonly valued so high on coming- into the service, that the owners 
were walling to drive them to death with a view to get the price. In addition 
to this, no bills ot lading were used or accounts kept with the wagoners. Of 
course each one had an opportunity to plunder the public without much risk of 
detection." 

Shortly after tlie arrival of General Winchester at the Rapids, 
messengers came to him from Frenchtown on the Iliver Haisin, 
irai^lorlng his protection from the Britisli and Indians, who had 
taken possession of the place soon after the surrender of General 
llnll, at Detroit. 

The request was granted, and on the ITth, 550 men were sent 
on this mission under command of Colonel Lewis, supported by 
110 more under command of Colonel Allen. They reached the 
place the next day, attacked the British and drove them out. 
As soon afterwards appeared, this advance was hazardous in the 
extreme, Maiden, the lieadquarters of General Proctor, who had 
recently been ajipointed as commander of the British troops, 
being only eiglitecn miles distant, from which place a superior 
force could be brought against the post in a few hours. JSTot- 
M-itlistanding this. General Winchester nnwisel}^ determined to 
maintain the position, and reinforced the place with 250 more 
men from the Kaj^ds, accompanying them in person. As might 
be suj)posed, the Biitish were no idle spectators of the situation, 
and stealthily marched against the place on the night of the 21st 
with a lieavy force. The next morjiing General Winchester 
beheld with surprise, tl)e batteries of the enemy, erected within 
commanding distance of his camp. 

An obstinate battle immediately ensued, which is best described 
by Dawson, in his Life of Harrison, as follows: "The American 
army in this affiair lost upwards of 290 in killed, massacred and 
missing. Only 33 escaped to the Rapids. The British took 
5i7 pn'soners, and the Indians about 45. The loss of the enemy, 
as the Americans had no chance to ascertain, it was of course 
never known to the public. From the best information that 
could be obtained, it is believed to have been in killed and 
Mounded, between three and four hundred. The Indians suf- 
fered greatly, and the 41st regiment was very much cut up.^^' 
Their whole force in battle was about 2000 — one-half regulars 
and Canadians, commanded by Cols. Proctor and St. George; 
the other composed of Indians, commanded by Round Head and 
Walk-in-the-AVater — Tecumseh was not there; h.e was still on 
the Wabash collecting the warriors in that quarter." The pris- 
oners were transported to Amherstburg, where they were 



■ *The large number of Americans killed was the result of the merciless 
slaughter by the Indians immediately after some retreating fragments of the 
army had siuTondered to them. 



At^erican Prisoners Paroled. 30 7 

crowded into a muddy woodyard without shelter. A heavy 
rain fell upon them the succeeding night, which greatly in- 
creased their suliering in that inclement season, especially as 
they were thinly clad and without blankets. Here they re- 
mained till the 26th, Mhen they were marched, in two divisions, 
through Upper Canada to Ft. George, on the Niagara, where 
they were paroled and returned home by the way of Erie and 
Pittsburg, and thence down the Ohio river. The conditions of 
their parole were, that they not to bear arms against his majes- 
ty or his allies during the present war until exclianged. On the 
reception of these terms, some of the inquisitive Kentuckians 
asked who were his majesty's allies. The question was designed 
as a rebuke to the British, for accepting an alliance with the 
Indians. The reply was, that " His majestie's allies were well 
known." * Besides the prisoners thus paroled, were the 45 taken 
by the Indians, a few of whom M'ere massacred, but most of them 
held for ransom, at Detroit. f 

Soon after this, General Proctor issued a proclamation, requir- 
ing the citizens of Michiijan to take the oath of alliegance to his 
majesty, or leave the state.:|: 

As stated in a previous chapter, after the massacre at Chicago, 
the Kinzie family Avere sent to Detroit, where they were livinsf a.s 
paroled prisoners at the time of the river Raisin horror. The 
house occupied by them was their old mansion, on the corner of 
Jefl'erson and Wayne streets. § 

* Dawson's life of Harrison, p. 357. 
t Dawson; "Wabun. 

X Against tliis, Judge Woodard, of Detroit, remonstrated, averring that it 
"was contrary to the law of nations. That a subject cannot transfer his alle- 
giance in time of war, without incurring the penalty of treason. 

§ " It had been a stipulation of Gen. Hull at the surrender of Detroit, that the 
inhabitants of that place should be permitted to remain undisturbed in their 
liomes. Accordingly the family of Mr. Kinzie took up their quarters with their 
friends, in the old mansion, which many will recollect as standing on the north- 
east corner of Jefferson avenue and Wayne street. 

Tke feelings of indignation and sympathy were constantly aroused in the 
hearts of the citizens, during the winter that ensued. They were almost daily 
called upon to witness the cruelties practiced upon the American prisoners 
brought in by their Indian captors. Those who could scarcely drag their 
wounded, bleeding feet over the frozen ground, were compelled to dance forthe 
amusement of the savages, and these exhibitions sometimes took place before the 
Government House, the residence of Col. McKee. Some of the British otKcers 
looked on from their windows, at these heart-rending performances ; for the 
honor of humanity, we will hope such instances were rare. 

Every thing that could be made available among the effects of the citizens 
were offered, to ransom their countrymen from the hands of these inhuman 
beings. The prisoners brought in from the River Raisin — those unfortunate 
men who were permitted, after their surrender to Gen. Procter, to be tortured 
and murdered by inches, by his savatje allies,, excited the S3'mpathie3 and called 
for the action of the whole community. Private houses were turned into hospi- 



308 Fort Me'tgs Built. 

The calamitous result of tins affair, well nigli frustrated the- 
plan of General Harrison to maintain his position at the Ra})i(is^ 
and on his arrival at the place the next day after the battle, its 
few survivors came in with such alarming news, that he, after 
holding a council of war, thought it prudent to retreat as far as 
Portac-e river, which he did the dav followini>', after destroviuii- 
the provisions and burning the block house. Here, being re-in- 
forced on the 1st of February, he again advanced to the Ila])ids, 
and determined to make a stand against the audacious enemy. 

A fort was built, which was named Fort Meigs, in honor of the 
governor of Ohio. It was situated on the east bank of theMau- 
mee, opposite the battle ground where General Wayne, eighteen 
years before, had overwhelmed the Indians with defeat under the 
very guns of the English, who at that time had a fort on this liis- 
toric ground, on the north side of the river just below the present 
site of Fort Meigs. Harrison was now in a critical position. 
Of the 10,000 men which had been raised for his service, many 
were lingering on the way under the duress of a mud blockade; 
some were posted at points where a force was necessary to over- 
awe the Indians, and not a few had been wasted with the malarious 
diseases of the country, whose immense valleys had not yet been 
disinfected bv the smoke of the pioneer. The British, by means 
of their vessels on the lake, could quickly bring to the front all 
the suy)p]ies they wanted for the cam])aign, while the Americans 
had to transport their camp-snpplies over a hundred miles of 
quagmire, and the same ditiiculties that had beset the path of 
General Hull * now threatened General Harrison. The most ho 

t.als, and every one Avas forward to get possession of as many as possible of tin- 
survivors. To effect this, even the articles of their apparel were bartered by thi' 
ladies of Detroit, as they watched from their doors or windows, the miserable 
victims carried about for sale. 

In the dwelling of Mr. Kinzie, one larofc room was devot<?d to the rece|jtion of 
the sufferers. Few of them survived. Among those spoken of as objects of the 
deepest interest, were two young gentlemen of Kentiickj', lirothers, both severe- ' 
ly wounded, and their wounds aggravated to a mortal degree, bjr subsequent 
ill-usage and hardships. Their solicitude for each other, and their exhibition 
in various ways of the most tender traternal affection, created an impression 
never to be forgotten. 

The last bargain made, was by black Jim; and'one of tlie children, who had 
permission to redeem a negro servant of the gallant Col. Allen, with an old 
white horse, the only available article that remained among their possessions. 

A brother of Col. Allen, afterwards came to L>etroit, and the negro preferred 

returning to servitude, rather than remaining a stranger in a strange land. 

Waubiin, p. 249. 

* Says General Hari-ison in his report to the "War department, a few weeks 
previous to this time : "If there were not some important political reason urging 
the recovery of Michigan Territory and the capture of Maiden as soon as those 
objects can possibly be effected, and that to accomplish them a few weeks sooner, 
expense was to be disregaided, I sliould not hesitate to say, that if a small pro- 



Fort Meigs Besieged. 809 

•could hope was to defend Fort Meiers and Sandusky till reinforced 
■with sutficient numbers to pursue the original plan of the 
<'anipaign by advancing on Detroit. Well knoMnng that General 
Proctor was better prepared to take the offensive than himself, 
rand rightly judging that he would do so, General Harrison made 
the earth defenses of Fort Meigs as perfect as military skill could 
unake them, and awaited his approach. The winter passed with 
T)ut little freezing weather, and a boundless seaof mud intei-posed; 
hetween Fort Meigs and its expected reinforcements, till General ^ 
Proctor and Tecumseh appeared before the ])lace with 3,000 
British and Indian troops. It was now the 26th of April, and 
an active summer campaign was at hand, for which General 
Harrison was by no means prepared. The tenants of Fort Meigs 
now beheld the enemy planting their batteries from the high 
bank on the opposite side of the river, which were soon to vomit 
torth a tempest of hot shot and shells into Fort Mei^s. 

While these preparations were being made on tlrwpart of the 
Pritish, their red allies under Tecumseh crossed over the river 
and took a position in the rear of the fort among the forest 
trees. To encourage them. General Proctor had promised an 
easy victory over the Americans to Tecumseh. It was said with 
<loubtful authority, that he promised to deli\;er to Tecumseh Gen- 
eral Harrison's person, as war prisoner, as sooh as Ft. Meigs should 
be taken. A furious lire was now opened- upon the fort from 
"the British batteries by day and night, while the Indians climbed 
the tall forest trees and kept up a lire of small arms against the 
garrison. To protect themselves from the bursting shells which 
were constantly exploding inside of the fort, the soldiei's dug 
'burrows in the ground and crept into them when a shell fell near 
1)y, remaining till it had exploded, from which circumstance the 
Indians said thev fouiiht like o-round hogs. Dav after dav the 
attack was kej^t up with unremitting fury, the tire of the defend- 
ers all the while responding. 

On the 3d of May, after three days of unusually heavy firing. 
General Proctor sent a flag of truce to General Harrison, demand- 
ing the surrender of the place. Major Chambers M-as its bearer, 
and when introduced to General Harrison, the following wordij 
passed between them: 

Major ("ir ambers: — Gcnoral Proctor has directed me to d(nu;uid tlie sur- 
rt^nder of tlii< post. He wishes to spare the ett'usion of blood. 

< ; icNER.vi- Hakiusox : — The demand under the present circumstances is a most 

portion of the sums which will be expended in the quarter-master's department 
in the active, prosecution of the campaig-n. during- the winter was devoted to 
obtaining the command of Lake Krie, the wishes of tlie government in their 
utmost extent, could be accom[>lislicd without ditticulty,'' in tlio months of April 
.and May. Dawson, p. ooo. 



310 Exjploit of Oliver^ The Daring Scout. 

extraordinary one. As General Pi'octor did not send me a summons to surrender 
on his first arrival, I had supposed that he believed me determined to do my 
duty. His present message indicates an opinion of me that I am at a loss to 
account for. 

Major Chambers: — (leneral Proctor could never think of saying anytliing- 
to wound your feelings, sir. The character of General Harrison as an otlicor,, 
.is well known. General Proctor's force is very respectable, and there is with 
him a larger body of Indians than has ever before been embodied. 
, ' General Harkison: — I believe I have a correct idea of General Proctor's 
\ force; it is not such as to create the least ar prehension for the result of the con- 
, t.est, whatever shape he may be pleased hereafter to give to it. Assure thi> 
General, however, that he will never have this post surrendered to him upon 
any terms. Should it full into his hands, it will be in a manner calculated to- 
do him more honor and to give him larger claims upon the gratitude of his gov-- 
ernment, than any capitulation could possibly do. 

The messenger then returned to the British camp, and the attack begim again 
with increased fuiy. 

At the opening of the siege. General Harrison had sent mes- 
sengers for the purpose of hurrying forward reinforcements, and 
in response to tliem, General Green Chiy at the liead of 1,'2<)0' 
Kentuckv^nd Ohio volunteers, were now within three hours 
inarch of !ffi Meigs on the banks of the jVfaumee, just above the 
Eapids; but the danger of an anibuseade was so imminent, that 
he durst not advance another step till he had communicated with. 
General Harrison. AVho dared midertake such a dangerous mis- 
sion? The tirst man who volunteered to do this, was Captain 
'Leslie Combs, of Kentuckv. At the head of a few picked men, 
he crept within a mile of the fort, when lie was discovered by the' 
enemy, and nearly all his party were killed, Combs himself nar- 
rowly escaping the fate of his daring companies. Fortunately 
Captain William Oliver M-as in the camp, the same dashing young- 
ranger who had penetrated through the Indian lines around Fort 
Wayne a few months before, and carried a message to its defend- 
ers, that Harrison was marching to their relief; and now, by the 
changing fortunes of war, it became his lot to take a message to 
General Harrison, that relief was at hand for him. Fifteen brave 
Ohioans promptly volunteered to follow him in this dangerous 
adventure. Late in the evening on the 4th, they seated them- 
selves in their boat and silently rowed down the Manmee, till the 
camp lires of the besiegers were visible, when the party landed 
and crept along the margin of the river towards the tort. Inside 
of it silence and darkness reigned, for their tires had been extin- 
guished, lest thev miirht afford direction for the enemv's shc>t. 
The sentinels M'ere on the alert, for there was a purpose there 
brooding over the situatioii in the darkness of their vengeful 
solitudes, and when Oliver's party came to the gate they were 
mistaken for the enemy about to make an assault, and were tired 
upon; fortunately none of them were wounded, and they soon 
found means to make themselves known, and entered the fort^ 



Dashing Sortie — Victory — Amhustade, 8.11 

Oliver immediately going to the quarters of General irarrison. 
Now the whole situation was changed. The beleaguered gar- 
rison could take the offensive. A hardy messenger, ((Japtain 
Hamilton, of the Ohio volunteers), was immediately dispatched to 
General Clay Green, to advance and attack the British batteries 
on the north side of the river opposite the fort, with SOO men, 
while with the remainino- 400 men he Mas to liii'ht his way 
through the enemy's lines into the fort, While these movements 
were in jn'ogi'ess, a sortie was to be made from the fort against 
the British batteries, farther up the river on the south side. 
Early the next morning. Clay made his appearance according to 
orders, and suddenly the enemy found their whole line of batter- 
ies attacked by a foe whom they had hitherto beheld with con- 
tempt. Colonel Miller led the assault on the South side, drove 
the gunners from their guns, spiked them and returned to the 
fort, while Colonel Dudley, from Clay's command, attacked the 
batteries on the north side. They were also taken, but unfor- 
tunately in the flush of victory, the dashing Iventuckians fol- 
lowed in hot pursuit after the retreating columns. This was 
contrary' to the orders of General Harrison, who behekl from 
the fort the fatal pursuit with deep anguish. The pursuers were 
led into an ambuscade, and all but 150 of the gallant 800 were 
killed or taken prisoners. The Indians kept on their work of 
slaughter after they had surrendered, till Tecumseh interposed 
his authority, to put a stop to the liendish work.* 

The results of the day were, that Ilai'j'ison was reinforcrd bv 
over 500 men, notwithstanding his losses, and numy of the be- 
sieger's guns were spiked. Besides these advantages. General 
Proctor had received the first lesson in Yolnnteer practice, which 
was quite sufficient to convince him that Ft. Meigs could not be 
taken. He therefore determined to retreat, lest he might be at- 
tacked by fresh reinforcements. Complete preparations for this 
were made by the 9th, when his force, consisting of 600 regulars, 
800 Canadian militia and 1800 Indians, suddenly withdrew down 
the river, giving one tremendeous discharge from their cannon, 
back towards tlie fort as they left.f This ])arting salute killed 
10 in the fort, and wounded as many more, said one of the offi- 
cers '• we were glad enough to see them off, on any terms." Of 
this whole army retreating from American soil, not one felt the 
sting so bitterly as Tecumseh. Little did he then think he should 
never again return. His unrelenting courage, however, was not 
shared by his army of 1800 Indians. Not that they lacked the 

*Drake, Howe's Hist, of Ohio. 
tHowe's Hist. Ohio, p. 631. 



31*2 British Chatuje of Base. 

dasliiiiix qualities of ijood soldiers, but the orditiarv discipline by 
wliio'i the armies of civilized nations are held toi^ether, are want- 
ing in an Indian army, for it has no provision aa^aiust desertion. 

If the meanest- sc>]dier <jets discouraired, or takes a honisiek tit 
to return to his lodge and see his squaw, the chief has no otiier 
means but moral suasion, to prevent it. As long as the Indian 
sees progress and a hope of booty, he will cheerfully endure hun- 
ger and other discomtitures, but he is a poor dependence tor 
besieging' well defended forts, and the English, much to theii 
chagrin, found this to be the case before the war was over, 
although it was to them they «^)wed their lirst successes at its 
opening. After giving up the siege of Ft. Meigs, General Proc- 
tor and Brigadier General Tecumseh (to give him his title\ de- 
termined to make a sudden dash against some vital ]Hnnt occu- 
pied by the Americans. Of such points, Upper Sandusky, where 
a large amount of provisions and other military stores were col- 
lected, and Erie, where a fleet was being built, were by tar tlie 
most important. Apprehensive of an attack on U]iper Sandusky, 
General Harrison stationed himself, with what forces he could 
command, at Seneca, which laid in the path between Sandusky 
bay and this place, as by means of his scouts he had ascertained 
that the enemy were massing their forces in this direction. 

At the head of navigation on the Sandusky river, was Ft. Stephen- 
, son, a small stockide defended by less than 200 men under eom- 
*" mand of Captain Crogan, a nephew of the famous General George 
Kogers Clark, whose timely concpiest of the Illinois country in 
the days of revolutionary memory, will not be forgotten. Fort 
Stephenson, also laid in the path of the enemy on their way to 
Up]>er Sandusky, the vital point of the Americans. Meantime, 
while General Proctor's fleet had put into Sandusky Pay, and 
were approaching Ft. Stevenson, Tecumseh's Indians had crossed 
the country hx a hasty march, and were threatening Upper San- 
dusky. Under these circumstances, instructions were sent to 
Captain Crogan to retire fri>m Ft. Stevenson, if he could do so 
with safety, but the orders did not come in time to aliect the 
retreat with a reasonable hope of success, and he determined on 
defending the post. 

On the 31st cif July, the Pritish fleet made their apju^arance 
before the place commanded by General Proctor himself, his force 
consistiuiT of 500 re<rulars and as numv Indians, the vio-ilant Tecum- 
sell all the while lying back with his army, ready to intercept any 
intended reinforcements to the ]ilace from Ft. Meigs, as well :is to 
co-operate with General Proctor in a descent on Upper Sandusky, 
as soon as Ft. Stcj>henson should fall into their hands. After 
the usual investment, which occupied the time till the :2nd o( 



Gallant DefeJise of Fort Stt'2)/i<'nson. 313 

Auijnst, General Proctor sent a summons to Captain Crogan to 
surrender. This he promptly refused to do, and when admon- 
ished of tlie fate wliich awaited them from tlie vengeful Indians, 
in case the fort had to be taken by assault, Mr. Shipp, with 
-whom the messenger conferred, replied: "There will none of us 
be left to kill." 

The messenger now retired and the attack began by a heavy 
cannonading, to which the besieged could only retort with a 
single six-pounder. 

Little exee\ition was done on either side by this method, and 
Oeneral Proctor, not wishing to waste his time by the slow pro- 
cess of a siege before so insigniticant a ])ost, ordered an assault. 
This had been expected by Captain Crogan, and he had made ; 
ample provision for it by masking his ca^lmon so as to command [^ 
the ditch where the attack was to be made. The piece was 
loaded with a double charge of small shot and destructive mis- 
siles, and but half a charge of powder, as he intended, before fir- 
ing it, to wait till the attackers were close enough to get the full 
force of the contents, which, with its light charge of powder, 
Avould scatter and mow down all the larger swath of men when 
3iear enouijh to receive it at its greatest force. 

Unconscious of immediate danger, the assailants approached 
•within oO feet of its muzzle, when the peice was unmasked and 
tired at their solid phalanx of men, who were advancing 
Avith the scaling ladders in their hands, with which to climb the 
■walls of the fort. Never before in the history of the war, was the 
■effect of a single cannon-shot so terrible; more than 50 men fell, 
of whom above half never rose again. An instantaneous dis- 
charge of small arms from the defenders followed, and when the 
^moke Mas lifted from the scene of slaughter, the immense 
^,rmy of besiegers were seen flying from the field, while 150 of 
their number were left dead or dvina: behind.* Croofan-s loss 
was 1 kilkd and 5 wounded.f Proctor's hopes of penetrating the 
country, so as to take Fpper Sandusky, thus dashed to the ground, 
he resolved t(t retreat, and so apprehensive was he that Harrison 
would attack his rear, that he left a sloop-load of stores behind, as 

*The bt'siefTod let down pails of water from the wall of the fort, for the relief 
of the wounded, immediately after the assault had ceased. — Hour' n History of 
Ohio 

t Black Hawk was at this seige. which he describes in his statement, already 
^ven in the foreofoinjr pages, thus: " Dickson came to me and said, you will see 
to-moiTOw. how easily we will take that fort. 1 was of the opinion they would 
take it. but when the mornina" came 1 was disappointed. The British advanced, 
<:ommenced an attack, and fought like braves, but by braves were defeated, and 
a great number killed. 



314 British Retreat to Canada 

I his vanquished army in hot liaste crowded sail down the San- 
dusky river.* 

The disappointed Indians baulked of their prey, vanished into 
the forests, wendinij;' their way Jiorthwnrdly towards their British 
Sittraction, as the needle turns towards the pole. While this ill- 
starred expedition of Proctor's had been in progress, another one 
was planned against Erie, intended to destroy the American fleet 
now alr/iost ready to sail from the place. 

This was entrusted to Captain Barclay, and sailed from Mahlen 
down the lake on the 18th of July. After reconnoitering the 
American defenses, it returned w^ithout making the attempt, f 

On to Maiden^ again became the watchword throughout tiie 
northwest. Ohio proposed to raise 10,000 volunteers for the- 
service, and Kentucky was not less zealous in the cause, but the 
government had proposed to furnish regulars for the service, and 

-it was not possible to accept all the volunteers who felt eager to- 
take a hand in the invasion of Canada. A clamor of discontent 

* Geaeral Harrison's fame now stood so liio:h, especially in the estimation of 
the friendly Indians, that the most prominent chiefs among the Delawares an<i 
Senecas, and even some of the Shawaneese chiefs, offered their services to hitu 
with their respective braves. They were accepted and joined his army at Sene- 
ga, his head-quarters on the Portage river; but among the Shawaneese chiefs, 
one named Blue Jacket (not the one of the same name wliose high-bred virtues 
had made him conspicuous in bringing about the peace of Greenville), perhaps 
under an impression that if General Harrison could be killed the Indian cause 
would be gained, determined on assassinating him. True to the Indian custom, 
he confided this secret resolution to his best friend, and begged his assistance in 
the affair. Such assistance his friend was not bound to give, according to the 
measure of Indian honor, but he was bound to preserve the secret. Here was a 
■dilemma. He loved Harrison, not only for his charity for the Indian race, but 
for the kindness he had shown him froni his early youth, ever since his father 
had been executed by the laws of his tribe for the crinu' of sorcery. Moreover, 
he was impressed with a full sense of the bad consequences sure to result to liis 
tribe (the Delawares), should the intentions of Blue Jacket be carried out. 
While thus painfully brooding over the issue a few days latter, the would-be 
assassin came into his presence in a towering rage. Colonel McPherson, an 
officer in General Harrison's army, had just turned him out of his presence for 
some breach of decency, and he swore vengeance on him for the insults, declar- 
ing he would kill him also. This roused the indigniation of the young chief, to 
whom the murderous intention had been confided, and he felled him to the 
ground with a single blow from his tomahawk, and despatched him with a sec- 
ond. He next ordered his dead body sent to his tribe, and bade defiance to 
popular resentment for the act. 

Instead of passing an unfavorable verdict upon the hero, he was applauded, 
and two years later General Cass made him a handsome' present as are-.vard for 
his fidelity to General Harrison. The name of this chief was the Beaver: he now 
became a great favorite with General Harrison, and later with Conmiodora 
Perry, who christened him The General's Mameluke.— 2)rtH\90»'s Life of Harri- 
son, p. 415. 

t The impossibility of his larger vessels getting over the bar, might have 
been his reason for relinquishing the attack more than his feai- of the Americau 
defenses. 



Geroerai Harrison/s Letter to Governor Meigs. 315 

among the Ohio militia was the result, and General Harrison 
wrote a letter to Governor Meigs to allay it, of which the follow- 
ing is a part: 

'' The exceptions you have made, and the promptitude with 
which your orders have been obeyed to assemble the militia and 
repei the late invasion, is truly astonishing, and reflect the high- ' 
est honor on your State. * ^ * It has been the intention of 
the government to form the army destined for operation on Lake 
Erie, exclusively of regular troops if they could be raised. The 
number was limited to 7,000. The deficiency of regulars was tO' 
be made up from the militia. * * I have, therefore, called on 
the governor of Kentucky for 2,000 men; with those there will / 
still be a deficiency of about 1,200. Your Excellency has state(J *> 
to me that the men who have turned out on this occasion, have- 
done it with the expectation of being effectually employed, and 
that should they be sent home, there is no prospect of getting 
them to turn out hereafter, should it be necessary. To employ 
them all is impossible. With my utmost exertions, the embarka- 
tion cannot be effected in less than fifteen or eighteen days,. 
should I even determine to substitute them for the regular troops 
which are expected. To keep so large a force in the field, even 
for a short period, would consume the means which are provide<J 
for the support of the campaign. Under these circumstances, I 
would recommend a middle course to youi- Excellency, viz: to- 
dismiss all the militia but two regiments. * * It appears 
that the venerable governor of Kentucky is about to take com- 
mand of the troops of that State. Could your Excellency think 
proper to follow his example, I need not tell you how highly 
grateful it would be, dear sir, to vour friend, 

W. H. Harrison."* 

Agreeable to the request of General Harrison, the 2,000 Ohio* 
volunteers were sent to Upper Sandusky by Governor Meigs, to- 
await his orders, but unfortunately their enlistment had only 
been for forty days, and on these terms. General Harrison declined 
to accept their services. This raised a storm of indignation 
against the commanding general, unjust as it was fleeting, for it 
could hardly be supposed that raw recruits could accomplish the 
requirements of the campaign in so short a time. The new 
American fleet had now cut loose from its moorings, and for the 
first time the American jack was thrown to the breeze on Lake 
Erie. It sailed up the lake to Sandusky about the ,18th of 
August, where Commodore Perry, who held command of it,, 
anchored off the harbor and conferred with General Harrison^ 

*Dawson's Life of Harrison, p. 412. 



316 Perry's Victory. 

"who came on board his vessel. The fleet was still deficient in 
men, and General Harrison furnished him 150 to complete his 
•crew. The Commodore now sailed for Maiden, where the Eng- 
iish fleet lay protected by the land batteries. 

In vain the American flag was flaunted in full vieAv; the Eng- 
lish fleet did not accept the challenge, and Commodore Perry 
retired to Put-in-bay, on the American side. On the 10th of 
Sej)teniber, however, the English fleet left Maiden, and Commo- 
<iore Perry iniTnediately sailed out to meet it. The following is 
his own account of the battle which followed: 

" At 15 minutes betiore 12, the enemy commenced firing; at 5 
minutes before 12 the action commenced on our part. Finding 
their tire verv destructive, owino- to their lona: irnns, and its 
l)eing mostly directed to the Lawrence, I made sail, and directed 
the other vessels to follow, for the purpose of closing with 
the enemy. Every brace and bow-line being shot away, she 
l)ecame unmanageable,* * * The LaAvrence, which was the 
flag-ship, finding she could no longer annoy the enemy, I 
left her. * * At half past 2, the wind springing up. Cap- 
tain Elliott WRB enabled to bring his vessel, the Niagara, into 
<5lose action. I immediately went on board of her, when he antic- 
ipated my wish, by volunteering to bring the schooners, %vhi<,'li 
liad been kept astern by the lightness of the wind, into close 
siction. * * At 45 minutes past 2 the signal was made for 
•close action. The Niagara being very little injured, I deter- 
mined to pass through the enemy's line, bore up and passed 
sihead of their two ships and a brig, large schooner and sloop 
from the larboard side, at half pistol sliot distance. 

The smaller vessels at this time, having got within grape and 
•canister distance, under the direction of Captain Elliott, and 
keeping up a well directed fire, the two ships, a brig and a 
schooner surrendered, a schooner and a sloop making a vain 
.•attempt to escape."* 

The furious connonading of the battle was heard at Maiden, 

Avhiie its smoke rose in portentious clouds into the calm autumn 

-skv that overhuniT tlie lake, dviiiir awav in the distant haze of its 

tranquil face. AVho had won the victory? was the question that 

runo; throuirh the lines of Proctor's arnn- of -1,000 white and red 

f^oldiers, assembled there awaiting its issue. Besides these, were 

many American prisoners not less anxious, among whom was 

John Ivinzie, who had been brought to the place in the following 

manner, as told in Waubun: 

Mr. Kinzie. us lias boon rolated. joinod his family at Doti-oit in the month of 
January. A short time after suspicions arose in the mind of Gon. Proctor that 

•American State Papers, Vol. ir, p. 295. 



Governor Shelhy Art- Ives. 31 T 

he was in correspondence with Gen. Harrison, who was now at Fort Meig's, anrl 
who was believed to be meditating- an advance upon Detroit. Lieut. Watson, of 
the British anny, waited upon Mr. Kinzie one day. with an invitation to the quar- 
ters of Gen. Proctor, on the opposite side of the river, saying- he wished to speak 
with him on business. Quite unsuspicious, he complied with the invitation, 
when to his surprise he was ordered into confinement, and strictly guarded in 
the house of his former partner. Mr. Patterson of Sandwich. Finding- that he 
did not return to his home, Mrs. Kinzie informed some of the Indian ciiiefs, his 
particular friends, who immediately repaired to the head-quarters of the com- 
manding- officer, demanded their "friend's" release, and brought him back ta 
his home. After waiting a time until a favorable opportunity presented itself, 
the General sent a detachment of dragoons to arrest him. They had succeeded 
in carrykig him away, and crossing the river with him. Just at this moment a 
party of friendl)- Indians made their !ii>pearance. 

"Where is the Shaw-nee-aw-keeV" was the first question. "There," 
replied his wife, pointing across the river, " in the hands of the red-coats, who 
are taking- him away again." 

The Indians ran to tlie river, seized some canoes that they found there, and 
crossing over to Sandwich, compelled Gen. Proctor a second time to foreg-o his- 
intentions. 

A third time this officer was more successful, and succeeded in arresting- Mr. 
Kinzie and conveying him heavily ironed to Fort Makhm. in Canada, at the 
mouth of the Detroit River. Here he was at first treated with great severity, but 
after a time the rigror of his confinement was somewhat relaxed, and he was per- 
mitted to walk on the bank of the river for air and exercise. 

On the 10th of !-'epteniber, as he was taking- his promenade under the close 
supervision of a guard of soldiers, the whole party was startled by the sound of 
guns upon Lake Erie, at no great distance below. What could it mean? It 
must be Commodore Barclay firing into some of the Yankees. The firing con- 
tinued. The time alotted the prisoner for his daily walk expired, but neither 
he nor his guard observed the lapse of time, so anxiouslj- were they listening 
to what they now felt sure was an eng-agement between ships of war. At 
length Mr. Kinzie was reminded that the hour ior his return to confinement had 
arrived. He petitioned for another half-hour. 

" Let me stay," said he. " till we can learn how the battle has g-one." ' 

Very soon a sloop appeared under press of sail, rounding- the point, and pres- 
ently two gun-boats in chase of her. 

" She is running- — she bears the British colors," cried he — "yes, yes, they 
are lowering — she is striking her flag! Now." turning to the soldiers, " I will 
go back to prison contented — 1 know how the battle has gone." 

The sloop was the Little Belt, the last of the squadron captured by the gallant 
Perry on that memorable occasion, which he announced in the immortal words: 

" We have met the enemy, and they are ours!" 

On the ITtli of September, Shelby, the venerable revolutionary 
father and governor of Kentucky, arrived at Harrison's head- 
quarters on the Portage River, with 2,000 Kentucky troops. On 
the 21st everything was in readiness, and the embarkation of 
troop for the invasion of Canada began. All the available water- 
craft of the Americans, together with the captured British fleet, 
were brought into service, and with the assistance of all these, 
tlie army had to be transported by piece meal, partof theni being 
conveyed at a time to the Middle Sister Island. While the trans- 
portation of the troops was going on, General Harrison and Com- 
modore Perry made a reconnoisance oft' Maiden, to select a place 
for the debarkation of the armj. This done, the troops were 



M8 Battle of The Thames. 

qnicklj transported from the island to the Canada shore, and 
Maiden was entered bv them on the *27tii. 

Governor Shelbv led the advance, bnt the enemy had fled, and 
in their place a deputation of well-dressed women met him, with 
those irresistable courtesies which always win the lieart of a gal- 
lant soldier. Their request for protection was i,n*anted, and the 
army passed on in pursuit of Proctor and Tecumseh, who were in 
full retreat up the valley of the Thames. On the oth of October 
they were overtaken, and the battle of the Thames followed, a 
description of Avhich is here given, in General Harrison's otficial 
report, taken trom Dawson, p. 427: 

•' The troops at my disposal consisted of about 120 regulars 
of the 2Tth regiment, live brigades of Kentucky volunteer 
militia infantry, under His Excellency, Gov. Shelby, averaging- 
less than 500 men, and Col. Johnson's regiment of mounted in- 
fantry, making in the \vholean aggregate something above 3,000. 
No disposition of an army, op>posed to an Indian force, can be 
safe unless it is secured on the Hanks and in the rear. I had, 
therefore, no difficultv in arrano-juir the infantrv conformablv to 
mv general order of battle. General Trotter's briaade of 500 
men, formed the front line, his right upon the road and his left 
upon the swamp. General King's brigade as a second line, 150 
yards in the rear of Trotter's, and Chiles' brigade as a corps of 
reserve in the rear of it. These three brigades formed the com- 
jnand of Major General Henry; the whole of Gen. Desha's 
division, consisting of two brigades, were formed en pot&ri'Ce 
upon the left of Trotter. 

Whilst I was enirao;-ed in forminrr the infantrv, I had directed 
'"Col. Johnson's reiriment. which was still in front, to be formed in 
two lines opposite to the enemy, and upon the advatice of the 
infantry, to take ground to the left, and forming upon that flank 
to endeavor to turn the right of the Indians. A moment's re- 
flection, however, convinced me that from the thickness of the 
woods and swampiness of the ground, they would be unable to 
do anything on horseback, and there was no time to dismount 
them and place their horses in security; I therefore determined 
to refuse my left to the Indians, and to break tiie British lines at 
^once, bv a charge of the mounted intantry: the measure was not 
sanctioned by any thing that I had seen or heard of, but I was 
fully convinced that it would succeed. The American back- 
woodsmen ride better in the woods than any other people, A 
musket or rifle is no impediment to them, being accustomed to 
■ carry them on horseback from their earliest youth, I was per- 
suaded, too, that the enemy would be ({uite unprepared for the 
shock, and that they could not resist it.- Conformably to this 



Battls of The Thames. 319 

idea, I directed the re<j;iment to be drawn up in close column, 
with its right at the distance of fifty yards from the road, (that 
it niiiijht be in some measure protected by the trees from the 
artillery) its left upon the swam]>, and to charge at full speed as 
soon as the enemy delivered their lire. The few regular troops 
of the 27th regiment, under their Colonel (Paull) occupied, in 
column of sections of four, the small space between the road and 
the river, for the purj^ose of seizing the enemy's artillery, and" 
some ten or twelve friendly Indians were directed to move un- 
der the bank. The crotchet formed by the front line, and Gen- 
4?ral Desha's division, was an important point. At that place, 
the venerable Governor of Kentucky was posted, who at the age 
of sixty-six preserves all the vigor of youth, the ardent zeal 
which distinguished him in the revolutionary war, and the un- 
daunted bravery which he manifested at King's Mountain. With 
my aids-de-cauip, the acting assistant Adjutant General, Captain 
Butler, my gallant frieiul Commodore Perry, who did me the 
honor to serve as my volunteer Aid-de-camp, and Brigadier- 
'General Cass, who having no command, tendered me his assist- 
ftuce, I placed mj-self at the head of the front line of infantry, 
to direct the movements of the cavalry, and give them the 
necessai'v support. The army had moved on in this order but a 
short distance, when the mounted men received the iire of the 
British line, and were ordered to charge; the horses in the front 
of the column recoiled from the lire; another was given bj the 
enemy; and our column at lenoth getting in motion, broke 
through the enemy with irresistible force. In one minute the 
contest in front was over: the British officers seeing no hopes of 
reducing their disordered ranks to order, and our mounted men 
wheeling upon them and pouring in a destructive fire, immedi- 
ately surrendered. It is certain that three only of our troops 
were Avounded in this charge. U]ion the left, however, the con ■ 
test was more severe with the Indians. Colonel Johnson, who, 
comnumded on that flank of his regiment, received a most gall- 
ing fire from them, which was returned with great effect. The 
Indians still further to the right advanced and fell in with our 
Irout line of infantry, near its junction with Desha's division, 
and for a moment made an impression upon it. His Excellency, 
■Governor Shelby, however, brought up a regiment to its support, 
and the enemy receiving a severe fire in front, and a part of 
•Johnson's regiment having gained their rear, retreated with 
precipitation. Their loss was very considerable in the action, 
and many were killed in their retreat." 

Tecumseh was slain in this battle. Colonel Richard M. John- 
-Bon, afterwards vice-president of the United States, without 



320 Death of Tecum^eh. 

doubt, believed himself to be the one who achieved tlie honor. 
There is cood testimony that he killed an Indian whom he thouo-ht 
to be liim,'" but there is conflicting testinjony as to who killed 
Tecumseh. Sliabonee, whose inteo-ritv mav be vouched for bv 
many of the old settlers of Chicago, who are still living, was near 
Tecumseh when he was killed, and attributed his death to Colonel 
Johnson. f 

Mr. AVilliam Ilickling, a well-known citizen of (^hicago, was 
familiarly acquainted with Sliabonee and Caldwell, who both 
lived at Chicago in her early day, and in a paper which he reail 
before the Chicago Historical Society in is 77, the following state- 
ment is made, which brings to light some new facts relative to 
the battle of the Thames: 

Caltlwell held in high ivg^xrd, and often spoke of the military srenius and 
other qiialitications of Tcc-uniseh. looking: upon him as the greatest warrior 
chief of his time. Caldwell, like his leader Tecumseh. dnvins" the last year of 
their military career, while operating in connection with the British on our 
frontier, ;ind in Canada, lost all confidence in the ability of Gen. Proctor, the 
British commander. It is well known that Tecumseh was bitterly opposed to 
the evacuation of Fort ^lalden. and subsequently, wlien the British commander 
halted in his retreat, and formed his lines for a combat at the Moravian Towns, 
it was because Gen. Tecumseh informed him that he and his Indians thought 
the aiTuy had retreat^^d far enough, and were not going any further without first 
having a fight. Tecumseh was summoned to the British headquarters to discuss 
the plan of battle. We have the authority of Caldwell to say that Tecumseh 
and Gen. Proctor had a violent quarrel over the plans laid out by the latter for 
the conflict. That Tecumseh left the British headquaitfrs in disgust, after only 
a short interview, and returned to the old position occupied by him an hour or so 
previous, and then sending Caldwell to see Gen. Proctor, and urge upon him the 
necessity of changing his plan of battle. Soon after the departure of Caldwell 
from his Indian allies, the battle commenced with great fury. The death of 
Tecumseh, and route of the British and Indian forces are well known in history. 
Caldwell was not able to again join his Indian friends, until after the battle was 
over. He always expressed himself as well satisfied, that had Gen. Tecumseh, 
instead of Gen. Proctor, held command over both armies (British and Indians) 
that the result of tlie campaign, and especially it.s fatal finale at the '* Thames."' 
would have been difterent Shabonee. Tecumseh, CaUlwell, and Black Hawk 
were in counsel together, sitting on a log, or fallen tree, smoking tlieir pipes, 
and talking over the events of the times, when the messenger from Gen. Proc- 
tor arrived, summoning Tecumseh to his headquarters. 

The soil of the northwest was now unpressed by the foot of any 
armed foe except at ]\riehilimacinae. The campaign thus closed. 
Governor Shelby's volunteers were honorably discharged, and 
General Harrison, with his force of regulars, embarked from 
Detroit on the 23d of October, in obedieu*^ to orders from the 
war department, after having appointed General Cass as pro- 
visional governor of Michigan, and leaving a force of 1,000 troops 
under his command. Early the next spring, iu 1814, the gover- 

*See Hist. Coll. State Hist. So. of Wis. p. 372. 
tSee Hist. Coil. State Hist. So. of Wis., p. 378. 



Pra'tru du Chun 7\flrn by The /i/if/f/i. J)21 

emmeiit authorities of St. .Lc»uis, aj)j»i'olu'nsi\o cC a IJritisli inva- 
sion from ^riehiliiiiac'kiiiac. t^ent adotaclimont of soldiers to repair 
the old fort at Prairie du Chieii, and defend tlie place a-jaijist an 
attack. 

That these appreliensions were ■well gro\iuded. soon became 
apparent, for a large force of British and Indians shortly after- 
wards came down the AVisconsin i-iver, under (^olonel McKay, 
and laid siege to the place. It Mas taken after an obstinate 
defense, its garrison parolled and sent to St. Louis. In the month 
of July, the same year, an expedition was titted out at Detroit to 
capture !^[ichilimackinac, Commodore Sinclah* commanding the 
fleet, and Colonel Crogan, the hero of Ft. Stephenson, the land 
forces. The latter landed on the Island, but fell into an ambus- 
cade in approaching the fort, and were severely repulsed, whea 
the expedition returned without affecting its object, and Michili- 
mackinac, as well as Prairie du Chien, remained in Pritish posses- 
sion till given up by the terms of peace, at the close of the v»-ar. 
The first hostile blow in this war had fallen upon the northwest 
on the upjHT lakes, under an im|u'ession that having conquered 
this part of the country, and guaranteed a goodly portion of i" to 
certain Indian tribes as independent nations, the Xew England 
States would, through their influence in the hjiglish end of the 
scale to put an end to the Avar in a peaceful solution of the ques- 
tion, even with these conditions, and in that early age, such a 
solution of the issue to English eyes, seemed possible, especially 
as it Wiis no secret to English diplomatists that if the counsels of 
the New England States liad ruled alone, the war would not have 
been declared, at least till nuM-e time had transpired to tone 
down the p>retentious spirit of the English, jaded to frenzy, as 
they were, by the formidable couijuests of their great adversary, 
Napoleon. 

In this dream, the English calculated without their host, for 
•when the pinch came, the New England States manifested no 
disposition to desert the west, or to give it up, either to English 
or Indian hands, although from conscientious scruples they did 
object to invade Canada. The attempt to establish an indepen- 
dent nation of savages north of the Ohio river, was equally imjirac- 
ticable, and as might have been supposed, residted in the Eng- 
lish breaking faith with the Indians when peace was made, with- 
out fulfilling their obligation. The proof that such an obliization 
was entered into by the English witii the Indians, is implied by 
the tenacity with which they insisted (even as a sine qua non 
to a treaty of peace") on the inti^grity of an Indian confederacy, 
with its distinct boundaries. 

The boundary was to be the same as that established at the 



332 Testimony of Jiuddel and Caldwell. 

treaty of Greenville, iij 1795. It. M^oiild have given the Indians 
the 'northern ]>ortions, andthe hirgest half of the entii-e northwest. 

At or before the breakinij out of the war, this allurement was 
held ont to Tecumseh, and bj it his alliance secured and his naa^- 
terly energies brought to bear in favor of the English, notwith- 
standing the fatal results of the pro])het's defeat at Tippecanoe. 
Besides, the manifest evidence of this, which was brought to the 
eurface during the peace negotiations at Ghent, is the oral testi- 
mony of two witnesses. Rev. Mr. E,uddel, of Kentucky, and Billy 
Caldwell, chief of the Pottawattoinies, who lived at Chicago. 
Mr. Ruddel was taken captive by the Shawaneese, raised by them 
to manhood, and delivered up to his kindred at the treaty of 
Greenville. On coming into the walks of civilization, he soon 
educated himself, and became an efficient minister of the Gospel 
in the Christian denomination. After the close of the war of 
1812, he felt a strong desire to visit his early friends among the 
Shawaneese, and especially those of Tecumseh, to learn what he 
could of the history of the fallen chief; and from them he learned 
that the English did pledge to Tecumseh, to secure for the Indians 
as allies, permanent possession of the territory, not included in 
the lands relinquished to the whites, at the treaty of Greenville. 
With this guarantee, Tecumseh again took up the sword, 
although his tribe had made peace with General Harrison, after 
the Tippecanoe campaign. The first year of the war justified 
his expectations, but when the recoil came, and Proctor retreated 
from American soil, Tecumseh became dissatisfied, and doubted 
the ability of the English to fulfil their obligations. This he 
freely expressed at a private conference with hischiefs,just before 
the battle of the Thames. Billy Caldwell was at this conference, 
and at Chicago in 1833, when interviewed by Mr. Peck, the 
author of the Western Annals verified the statements of Mr. 
Huddel. 

Says Mr. Peck, in his history, page 647: 

"• He was anxious to find some trustworthy American citizen to 
write the biography of Tecumseh, and gave as a reason that n() 
'British oflicer should ever perform that service to his distinguished 
friend," remarking al; the same time: " The British officers prom- 
ised to stand by the Indians until we gained our object. They 
basely deserted us, got defeated, and after putting in our claims 
in' the negotiations at Ghent, finally left us to make peace with 
the Americans on the best terms we could. The Americans fairly 
whipped us,' and then treated with us honorably, and no Briton 
shall touch one of my papers," 

" Mr. Caldwell had a trunk well filled with papers and docu- 
ments, pertaining to Tecumseh." 



Negotiations at Ghent. 3123 

The conditions and issues thai came before both the English 
and Americans at the negotiations of peace at Ghent, were pecu- 
liar. -It was necessary, in order to bring about- peace, that both 
nations should make humiliating concessions.* ; 

The following is copied from [reports of the American peace 
commissioners at Ghent, to the Secretary of State, asking instruc- 
tions: 

Ghent, 19th of August, 1814. 

It was a sine quanon that the Indians should bo included in the pacification 
and as incident til ereto; that the boundarips of their territory should be per- 
manently established. Peace with the Indians is so simple as to require no 
connment. 

With respect to the boiindiiry which was to divide their territory from that of 
the United States, the object of the British government was, that .the Indians 
bbould remain as a permanent barrier between our western settk-ments and the 
adjacent British proviiKvs, to prevent them from being conterminotis to each 
other; and that neither the United States nor Great Britain should ever herer 
after have the right lo purchase or acquire any part of the territory thus recog- 
nized as belonging to the Indians. British State papers, Vol. i, Part ii, p. 1589. 

■ Peace was necessaiy for both nations; England had been in the 
vortex of Eur(»))ean war for twelve years; American discontent 
was cropping out in protests from the legislatures of Massachusetts 
and Connecticut,^ and from the Hartford convention, composed 
of dele<>'ates from throuofhout JS^ew En^-land. 

The handiwork of the sword had exliausted Europe, and he 
"who would tiy to prolong its devastations was an enemy to man- 
kind. Conservatism was above par, and the American Govern- 
ment set the example by instructing her ])eace commissioner to 
add no fuel to the council-tires at Ghent, by mentioning the sub 
ject of Right of Search or Im/presstneitt of American Seamen'. 
This was an admission that time, and not the sword, had won 
our cause. It also rebuked the policy of Jefferson, which re- 
jected the terms offered by England to Messrs. Monroe and 

*What is the probable result of this negotiation is hard to suppose. The ques- 
tion of a speedy peace we rather apprehend, depends on the prospects of things 
in Europe, and the turn of events inihe congress of Vienna. In case peace 
should not be made, this fact will be apparent to every one, that the war on our 
part, if offensive in its onset, will be purely defensive in its future progress and 
termination. With the general pacification of Europe, the chief causes for 
which we went to war with Great Britain, have, from the nature of things, ceased 
to atfect us; it is not for us to quarrel for forms. Britain may pretend to any 
right slie pleases, provided she does not exercise it to our injury. — Niles Regis-i 
in; Dec. iQth, 1814. 

- tEarly in 1814,- the Legislature of Connecticut passed a resolution to consider 
what measures should be taken to preserve the liberties and rights of her citi- 
zens, when the Secretary of War called upon her for troops to invade Canada; and 
on the 7th of October, the same year, the Governor of Massachusetts convened 
an extra session of the legislature, to tiike into consideration the dangers of an 
JRnglish invasion of her State, as a' consequence of the war, which many of her 
statesmen deemed unnecessary. 



324 Negotiations at Ghent. 

Pinckney in 1808, which were tliat an informal assurance should 
be given that the practice of Riglit of Search shonld be discon- 
tinned. * liistorj would fail to fulfil its mission if it did not 
state here that when the war was declared Napoleon was in the 
height of his power. Now he Avas an exile at Elba, and Eng- 
land's well drilled army was released from the service at home 
which had placed him there, and consequently ready for an 
American campaign. 

Still she was not ambitious to undertake it, choosing rather to 
relinquish her first terms than prolong the war. Besides her plan 
for an independent Indian nation in the northwest, was another 
provision, which was to bar'the Americans from building any for- 
tifications on the shores of the lakes, or placing any armed vessels 
of war on their waters,f on the ground that such a provision was 
necessary to preserve Canada from the danger of an American 
invasion. These impracticable terms being given up, an attempt 
was made to define the boundary between the two governments 
on the northeastern and on the northwestern frontier, but this 
involved more complications than were expedient to be under- 
taken at the time, and the matter was left for future adjustment, 
and so remained till settled by the Ashburton treaty of 1840. The 
treaty was signed on the 24th of December, 1814, and ratified at 
"Washington on the 17th of February, 1815.:}; 
- The battle of New Orleans was ibufrht durino; this intervah 
flpfter the signing of the treaty, for then its combatants had not 
heard the news of the peace. 

The war was not without its glories to American arms, though 
its main issue was a dead one a few. days after its declaration, 
when the British revoked their orders in council, which had 
been so obnoxious to American interests, as told in a previous 
chapter. 

Treaties of peace with the various western tribes of Indians 

* Jefferson's rejection of the terms was because he declined to insert them in 
the treaty. Perhaps his residence in Paris as American minister, had dazzled 
his eyes with French grlory to the detriment of En<,'-liind and he was not unwil- 
ling to exact from her both the letter and the spirit of radical justice. 

tAm. State Papers, 1811 to 1815, p. 607. 

X\\\ considering the conditions of the peace, as we have been informed of 
them, we canri&t but regard them as honorable to this country. The American 
Government began the war on account of the orders in coimcil, and to enforce 
the relinquishment of impressmftnt on board their merchant vessels. The ordin-s 
in council were repealed by our government before they knew of the commence- 
ment of the war. The war was continued by America, after she knew of the 
repeal of the orders in council, to compel us to relinquish the right of impress- 
ment. It was America, and not Great Britian, which claimed stipulation on 
this point. The war is concluded by a peace in which no such stipulatian is 
made. — Londo j Courier, Dec. 21th, 1814. 



rea<y' With The Jnduinl ' o25 

mIi.p liaf] l)eoii victliiiizcd into participation in tlie war followed 
Jhe snc'Cessfiil nt'jj^otiatiuns at Ghent, of conrse, for these hapless 
\vret('hes. were no longer able to raise a hostile arm.* 

General Harrison and Lewis Cass, on tlie part of the United 
'•States, negotiated with the Delawares, Shawanees, Senecas and 
Miamis, at Greenville, where, nineteen years before, Gen. Wayne 
had hehl the famous treaty with AYestern tribes, which took the 
lirst half of the country from them, and the moiety had been 
taken by ])iecemeal, till but little was left to give. William 
'Clark, Governor of Missouri, Ninian Edwards, Governor of Illi- 
nois Territory, and Hon. Auguste Chouteau, of St. Lonis, treated 
with the Northwestern tribes, among \Alioni were the Pottowat- 
tomies, in July, 1815, on the east bank of the Mississippi river, 
iust above the month of the Missouri. The Sac nation did not 
attend this convention, but the Se[)teml>er following a treaty was 
made with such portions of their tribe as felt friendly with the 
United States. Black Hawk was not among these, and did not 
attend the treaty. This tenacious brave still clung to British 
interests, even after hope had fled, and remained in this moody 
frame of mind till the western march of settlements began to 
encroach on the rights of his tribe, by occupying the beautiful 
Hock River Valley, in 1832. Then came the Black Hawk war, 
wliich will be told in its place. 

Kaskaskia was at this time the capital of Illinois Territory, where the execu- 
tive court was held in an antique French building made during that early civi- 
lization that had been begun in the valley of the Mississippi, at this historic 
place, in 1700. Here its charitable mantle had fallen upon three generations, 
.and here it now extended good-fellowship to the new regime though about to 
bring more progressive institutions to the country destined to overshadow 
French social life in llb'nois. Several of the buildings erected in the past cen- 
•tury are still standing here in a good state of preservation. Its civil and church 
^records are very extensive, dating back to the time of its first settlement. 

.\n intercepting chapter of early French history and heraldry, has lately been 
gleaned from them by E. G. Mason Esq. of Chicago, which was published in 
-the Chicago Times. It brings to light new data for the romancer, as well as 
the historian. Some future day Kaskaskia, as the old mediasval land mark be- 
tween savage and civilized life, will be looked upon with increa.sing interest. 
But as yet, the onward march of western settlmcnts have exhausted nearly all 
•their force in laying tlie dimension stone, on which to build permanent institu- 
tions in the broad wilds, to which the war of 1812 opened the doors. 

*The history only of such campaigns in this war has been written here 
as bore relation to tlie northwest. 



r , 



•M. 



CHAPTER XX. 

■•■ ^ ■ ' " . . ■' ' 

Th^ Great We^tas a New Arena for Progress — Religious Free- 

dt^in — Its Effects — Distributive Yersus Concentrated Lear- 
ning — Our Norman Pedigree and, Its Effects — The Lal'es a 
High/way to the West — Fort Dearborn Jxebuilt — Preliminar}/- 
Survey for the Illinois and Michigan Canal — John Kinzm 
Returns to Chicago — Indian Treaty Relinquishing Tajid'S 
from Chicago to the Illinois River — Illinois Admitted Into 
, the Union as a Sovereign State — Its Northern Bonndary 
i Eictended — Reasons for it-rChicago The Central Key of 
..The Nation. 

,,/!When .universal enthusiasm in any one direction dissolves intO' 
apathy from exhaustion ot" the forces ^vhich pulled intliat direct- 
ion, then comes an epoch when mankijid enter upon new iields 
pf labor quite different from the ones that have last engrossed 
their attention, and new energies that have long lain dormant are 
awakened into life. Such a point was reached when Euro])e 
sheathed the sword after the downfall of Napoleon in 1814. 
Kenown at the cannon's mouth was no longer sought after, for it 
was evident to the simplest understanding, that industry to build 
up what war had torn down would pay best, and with these nobler- 
purposes in view, Europe and America went to work. 

England's problem was how to keep the balance of trade in her 
favor, and how to pay the interest on her public debt which had 
so recently been contracted. xVmerica's was how to build turn- 
pikeSj caixals and, school. houses. througliout the, as yet, unknown 
and illimitable northwest. Both nations set about their res]>ec--- 
tive callings immediately, to fultill which, the inventive genius 
of the artisan M'as stimulated, and new machinery sprang into 
existence by Avhicli creative power to supply the wants of man 
was multiplied. 

Besides this, America on her pai-t brought to her aid new- 
achievements in religion and public ])oliey. The State was re- 
lieved from any responsibility in the former, each individual 
conscience being left tree to choose its own forms of worship due 



IM . 



'■' Distributive Learning. 327". 



to divine grace. Here it is not too much to sa}^ that to the 
wefe't belongs the honor- of sweeping awa}'^ everj^ vestage of legal 
fiutliority over religion from the first, while in New JEngland a 
pnblic tax in' the earlj^ day was levied for the support of the' 
gospel by the authority of the State.* This 'one idea is worth 
more than all the moral results of i!^apoleon's campaigns, which 
employed the. available foi'ces of nearly all Europe for more than 
ten ytars. The prosperity of the west is in part due to this 
principle, nor has its exemplary blessings stopped where they 
began, but by their moral force have already undermined the 
religious policy of England by presenting a contrast so much in 
f ivor of individual accountability when pitted against state au- 
thority in matters of conscience, f 

In ancient times the fruit of the tree of knowledge was forbidden 
to the masses, and a penalty attached to those who tasted it. ■ Now, 
the interest of neither king, priest or pedagogue is advanced by 
a monopoly of this boon. On the contraiy, it is presented to 
the people under the most enticing forms which universities, col- 
leges, schoolhouses, books and news]ia]iers are able to offer. Un- 
der this conditidn, the phil-osophy which once gave such singular 
faihe to Goiifucrufe, Zoroaster, Plato and others, and later to Co- 
pernicus, LaPlace and their kindred spirits, is noAV familiar to 
liiillions of men, and within the reach of every one. America 
wiis, offered as a field where this learning could be cultivated on 
a,' new soil, where there was ho danger to be apjirehended from 
tli6'oivershadOwing influences of clannishnoss in politics or relig- 
idn, or the rights of feudalism. The result is shown in' poetry, 
song, oratory and literature. The vital forces of a nation are on 

* In 1638 the following' appeared in the Colonial Records of Massachusetts, 
Vol.1, p. 240: 

."This Court, takeinff into consideration the necessity of an equall contribu- 
tion of a.Il QOiiion chiirges in towucs, and observing' tliat the cheife oecution of 
1his defect hearin arriseth from hence tliat many of those wlio are not fre'emen 
nor members of any chnrch do take advanta-ife there'hy to ■withdraw thicr heipe 
in such vohmtary contriluition as are in vse — It is therefore hearby deeU\red, 
ey'i'y inhabitant in any towne is lyable to contribute to all chiirges bdth in 
church and conionwf^the whercoft' hee doth or miiy receive b: nefit; and -witliall 
it is nlso ordered that such inhabitants who shall not voluntarily contribute 
yTportionately to his ability wt'i other freemen of the same towne to all comon 
char'fcs, as well as lor nphplding- the ordinances in the churches as cttlicrwi.^e, 
tihal be compelled thereto by asses.suient and distress, to bee levied by the can- 
st able'" 

Mpdifications of this old law inherited from En g-1 and. too numerous to nion- 
iinn, liave had ])lace in variou-< New Kngland States, even since they, with the 
otlie'r ciilbnies, gained their indcp n<len<e; and it is still within'the menio.y ef 
the middle-aged" men of bur day'that its last vOStiges were release<i ■ from Hro 
statute; books. 

t The modification of England's system of tithes is a proof of this assertion. 



36S 2i<>n»'iii liihcr'd ince. 

an imniuittiiiij t^tniiii to «i:ra^p at new readies in science and ar- 
tisaiisliip, and life now sees abundant diversity to animate its 
pathway. 

Sueli is America, ])articnlar]y the West, in her crowning glory. 
Among those who live in this aire of activitv there are censors 
who protest against its turmoil, and sigh for the quietude of olden 
times. Porhajis the restive s]iirits of the ambitious West would 
run mad witliout the restraining influence of these counselors. 
They may be necessary to prune otf the tangent points which 
may be called the deformities of our cycle in history, neverthe- 
less unparalleled in grandeur- a cycle in which not such archi- 
tectural piles as the Pyramids, the Pantheon or the Colosenm 
have been built by enforced labor, but one in which humbler 
edifices, dedicated to science and religion, have been distributed 
throughout tiie land. Mental alchemy has economized her most 
potent forces within unpretentious domicils; and where this is 
the universal condition, national issues hang u])on the turn of a 
subtle power, gathering its force from a considerate public opin- 
ion as a result of distributive instead of concentrated learning. 
This force is comparatively perfect when it is adequate to check- 
mate the sinister purposes of private ambition, used against the 
public interest; and that it shouki ever be up to this stand- 
ard, is essential to the success of a Rej)ublican form of govern- 
ment. 

* From the ancient Xormans, liave we nndoubtedly inherited 
through ancient Briton blood, our love of literature, and our 
ambition to outrival the rest of the world in national irrandeur, 
and alth»nicrh Americans love to date their patent from Plvmouth 
Xiock or Jamestown, it can only be claimed that these were way 
stations, on the road from the original starting point. The 
literature of the ancient IN^ornnins and even their mythology, is 
a sublime study of wliich their descendants, though diluted with 
the evolutions of centuries, may justly be proud. Their brain 
power has crept through the attenuations of European revolutions, 
and like the whirlwind, has seemed to gather force, till it has 
found its way to the great interior of Xorth America, to set up a 
nucleus, around which to build up our States as soon as the coun- 
try became accessible to settlers. The terminatioji of the war of 
1812 opened the gates to it, down to whish time the intrigues of 

* The Noi-nians or North men settled in Norway, as emisrrants from Asia, 
while Rome was in lier fjlory. They settled Iceland in 8ti0, and Greenland 
in 986. They conquered both Enghxnd and France in the day of their glory, 
and in 1066, William the Conqueror, a pure Norman, became king- of England, 
many generations after his people had first overrun the country and settled there. 
Trom this period dates the commeucemeut of Enghiud's greatness. 



Fort Dearhvrnr RebtdlL ;529 

"Spain, the lino-ering power of the Eusjlish on the lakes, and the 
Indian oec-n])ation, were insurmountable barriers to emigration. 
The true pioneer spirit now began in earnest. The great chain 
of lakes as a highway to the fiir west, rapidly grew into import- 
ance, and soon became a rival of the Ohio river, wliich had hith- 
erto been the only road to the west, except the track of the eini-- 
ffraiit wa<ron throuirh the crooked paths of the wilderness. 

Cliicago was now tlumght of again with increasing interest — 
not merely as a suitable place for a fort, which should command 
the fur trade of the hack country, but as the terminus of a thor- 
oughfare between the Upper Mississippi and the lakes. With 
this end in view, President Madison, in his message at the open- 
ing of Congress, in 1814, recommeiuU^d its attention to the im- 
purtance of a ship canal, connecting the waters of Lake Michigan 
.at Chicago, with the Illinois river. This was the first official 
mention of such a scheme, however much it might have been 
talked of amonor the ireoirfaphers of the country; and thC' next 
year, the SfCiotary of AVar, in his instructions to CTcneral Harris- 
■on, D. McArthur and John Grahame, recommended the erection 
•of military posts) connecting Chicago with St Louis, by way of 
the Illinois river.* The attention of the war department appears 
to have been ever directed to the importance of this thoroughfare, 
:since its necessity had become apparent by the purchase of Lou- 
isiana, and especially after its practicability had been assured by 
the successful termination of tlie late war with England. A year 
later, in 1816, the war department gave orders for the rebuilding 
of Ft. Dearborn. Captain Ilezekiah Bradley, who had entered 
the United States service April 19th, 1814, and whose honor- 
•able record had \\\m confidence in his abilities, was commissioned 
fttr the undertaking.f As chance would have it, he arrived on 
the ground with liis men (two companies) on the 4th of July, 
just thirteen years after his predecessor, Captain Whistler, had 
landed with his men, to build the first fort. ;}: 

The bones of the victims of the massacre of 1812 still laid 
ficattered over the sand-drifts, amongst the sparse growth of 
hunch grass and stunted shrubbery that grew there, and thus re- 
mained till 1822, when they av"-" (-arefully gathered and buried 
with the nn^asured respect of railit"'v (Etiquette, and they are 
now a part of the dust beneiitli the feet of a countless throng of 
busy citizens. The new fort was bunt on the same spot where the 
first had stood before its destruction. It consisted of a single 



*Am. State Papers. Vol. II, p. 13. 
tAra. State Papers, Vol. I, p. 6.33. 

tJacob B. Vanuira. of Massachusetts, was appointed Factor, and Chaa. Jouett^ 
of Vuginia, Indian Agent. 



^SSiQ "'•'• V ■ ■ •' ; John K'insie Returns to CfncagQ. 

•bTock-iionse, immediately east of whicli were barracks for tlie 
soldiers, and other buildings for storagej etc., the whole enclosed 
AJvith high palisades. Besides re-building Ft. Dearborn, the gov- 
ernment sent Major Long to make a ])relimii'iary survey of tbe 
■rivers between Chicago and the Illinois river, to ascerlain th4 
practicability of a ship-canal uniting thcin.* 

During the summer, Mr, John kiii;^ie returned- with his ftimi- 
ily to Chicago. _ Owing to the friend.^hip which the Indians had 
entertained for him, his liouse had been spared from the flames, 
and during his absence of four years, a Frenchnian named Du- 
Pin, resting under the usual immunity from Indian depivtUition 
vouchsafed to his nation, had occupied Mr. Kinzie's liouse apart 
of the time as a tradino^-station. 

' The same year at St. Louis, an important treaty was concluded 
"With the Indians, as follows: 
Treaty with the Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawattomies. 

A treaty of peace, friendship ami limits, made and cone! nded between Ninian 
Edwai-ds. William Clark, and Ang-nste Cbontenn, commissidiicr-! pI<Miipotentiary 
of the United States of America, on the p;n-t and behalf of s;iid States of the 
qf the one part, and the chiefs and wiuriors: of the united tribi's of Ottawas; 
Chippewas, and Pottawattomies residing on the Illinois and .Milwaukee rivers 
and their waters, and on the southwestern parts of Lake Michigan, of the other 
part. 

Whereas, a serious dispute has for some time past, existed between the con- 
tracting parties relative to the rigrht to a part of the lands ceded to the United 
States by the tribes of the Sacs and Foxes on the third day of November, one thou- 
sand eight hundred and four, and both parties being desirous of preserving an har- 

* The following facts relative to the topography of the country around (^hicago 
in 1816, are taken from his report to George Graham. Secretary of War. After 
describing the Illinois, the Desplaines and the Kankakee rivers, he speaks of the 
Chicago river, and calls it "merely an arm of the lake." The north branch he 
Sets down as thirty miles long; and continues, "it receives a. few tributaries. 
The south branch has an extent of only five or six miles, and has no supplies 
except from a small lake," (evidently what was Mad lake a few gears agoj. 
" The river and each of its branches are of variable widths, from fifteen to tilty 
yards, and for two or three miles inland have a sufficient depth of water to ad- 
mit vessels of almost any burden. The entrance into Lake Michigan, however., 
which is thirty yards wide, is obstructed by a sand-bar about seventy yards- 
broad, upon the highest part of which the water is usually no more than two 
feet deep. » * * '\^\~^q water coui-se, which is already opened between the 
river Desplaines and Chicago river, needs but little more excavation to render it 
sufficiently capacious for all tlie purposes of a canal." 

.'Tlie report of R. Graham and Joseph Phillips, dated Kankakee, April 4, 1819, 
conchules with the following: " The route by the Chicago, as followed by the 
French since the discovery of the Illinois, presents at one season of the year an 
uninterrupted water connunnication for boats of six or eight tdns burden, be- 
twei n the Mis.-issippi and the Michigan lake. At another season, a portage of 
two miles; at another, a portagi- ot seven, niiles, fr.uu the bend of the Plien 
(Jkesplairtes), to thearm of the lake. And -at' another a portage of fifty mites 
from the mouth of the I'lien to the lake, over which tlieveisa well be;it"n wajrbn-' 
road. Boats and their loads are hauled by oxen and vehicles, kept for that pur- 
pose bv the Fr 'nch settlers at (Chicago. 

Am.' State Paper, Mis. Vol 11, P. 5o6. 



' ■'.•!; .■-■■'' Cession of Lands. 381 

. •->'.':; I.:::.- .-...,■ ■ ' ■ , , : , 

monirtn? atifl friendly^ intercourse, and Of establishing' permanent peace and 
friendship, h;ive.:tbr;0ieipurppsQ of; removing all difficulties, agreed to the fol- 
lowing ternas : , 

■ 'A RT . 1 . Thesaid chiefs and wan-iors, for themselves and the tribes they repre- 
sent; aigree to relinquish, and hereby^ do relinquish, to the United States, 
till their right, claim and title to all the land contained in the before-mentioned 
cession of the Siics and Foxes, which lies south of a due west line from the south- 
ern extreiiiitv of Lake. Michigan' to the Mississippi river. And they moreover 
ctHle to the United States all the land contained within the following bounds, 
to! wit: beginning on the left bank of the Fox river of Illinois, ten miles above 
the mouth of said Fox river; thence running so as to cross Sandy cr-eek tea 
itiiles above its mouth; thence, in a direct line, to a point ten miles north of the 
'west end of the Portage, between Chicago creek, which empties into Lake Mich- 
igan, and tlie river Des Plaines, a fork of the Illinois; thence in a direct line, 
to a point on lake Michigan, ten mih^s northward of the mouth of Chicago 
creek; thence, along the lake, lo a point ten miles southward of the mouth of 
the said Chicago creek; thence, in a direct line, to a point on the Kankakee, ten 
miles above its mouth; thence, with the said Kankakee and the Illinois river, 
to the mouth of Fox river; and thence to the beginning: Prodded, nevertheless, 
that the said tribes shall be permitted to hunt and to tish within the limits of 
the land hereby relinquished and ceded, so long as it may continue to be the 
property of the United States. 

Akt. 2. In consideration of the aforesaid relinquishment and cession, the 
United States have this day deliv(ired to said tribes, a considerable quantity of 
nierchandise, and do agree to pay them, annually, for the term of twelve years, 
goods to the value of one thousand dollars, reckoning that value at the first cost 
■of the goods in the city or place in which they shall be ];)archased. without any 
charge for transportation; which said goOds shall be delivered to the said tribes 
at some place tm the Illinois river, hot lower down than I'eoria. And the said 
United States do moreover agree to relinquish to the said tribes all the land con- 
itained in the aforesaid cession of the Sacs and Foxes which lies north of a due 
west line from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi rivery 
except three leagues square at the mouth of theOuisconsiii river, imlndinu both, 
banks, and such other tractson or near to the Ouisconsin and Mississippi rivers 
•as the President of the United States may think proper to reserve: P/tow/ript?, 
That such other tracts shall not, in the whole, exceed the quantity that would be 
contained m five leagues square. 

Art. :). Tlie contracting parties, that peace and friendship may be permanent,. 
promi.se that,- in all things whatever, they will act with justice and correctness 
tov.ivds each other; and that they v/ill, with perfect good faith, fulfill all' the 
obligations imposed upon them by former treaties. 

In- witness whereof, the said Ninian Edwards, William Clark and Auguste 
Chouteau, commissioners aforesaid, and the chiefs and warriors of the aforesaid 
tribes, have hereunto subscribed their names and affixed their seals, this twenty- 
fourth day ot August, one thousand eiyht hundred and sixteen, and of the- 
i;idependence of the United State the forty-first. 

NINIAN EDWARDS, 
WILLIAM CLARK, 
AUGUSTE CHOUTEAU. 

[Signed also by the chiefs and warriors of the Ottawas, Chippewas, and 
Potto watomies.] 

;.. IJlack Partridge, whose name is now nobly associated with Chicago history, was 
then phief of the Pottowatomies, and signed the treaty. 

'i'Tlie object in securing this strip of land was to construct a 

^ftilitary road to facilitate tlie building of the proposed shi])Vca- 

j\»l,. .OJ .^11 the Indi,^n treaties ever nifide, this will be rojueju- 

bertxi when all others, witii their obliijations, are for<rotten. 

"When the country came to be surveyed in Bcction.s, inasmuch as- 



332 Illinois Admittt'd inUr Tho Union. 

thesurvcvs on both sides of the treaty lines were Tiut made at the 
«ame time, tlie section lines did not meet each other, and diago- 
nal offsets along the entire length of the Indian grant were the 
result. An occasional gore of land is left open to discussion as 
to what range and township it belongs, and all sectional maps 
must ever be disfigured with triangular fractions, as lasting monu- 
ments of early Indian power around Chicago. 

With the opening of the year 1817, Capt. Bradley was still 
busy in completing the various appendages to Fort Dearborn, 
such as a magazine made of brick, rescued from the ruins of the 
old ft>rt factory building, etc. % A commodious parade ground 
was also laid out, and a large field immediately south of the fort 
was enclosed ^^^th a worm fence. This was planted with corn 
imd garden vegetables for the subsistence of the garrison. Con- 
venient gate-ways, both on the north and south, g'ave ingress and 
egress. The block-house itself was more substantially built than 
the original one, and afforded an ample assurance of safety from 
Indian outbreaks. Communications were soon opened with the 
settlements of Southern Illinois, by the way of the south branch 
of the Chicago river. Mud Lake, the Besj^laines and Illinois riv- 
«ers. Along this channel supplies of flour, meat and other neces- 
-saries were brought to the fort by means of small row-boats, and 
the short portage from the Desplaiues to. the Chicago river. The 
:settlements of Southern Illinois had at that time attained projior- 
tions suflicient to qualify the territory for a state in the Federal 
Union, and the next year, 1818, Nathaniel Pope, delegate to 
■Congress, applied for and obtained the admission of Illinois as a 
■sovereign state. Although the northern half of the state was 
then unsettled, except at a very few places; its importance was 
not overlooked by Mr. Pope, who seemed gifted with a remark- 
able intuition into the future. Illinois as a territorj' was bounded 
on the north by a line due %vest from the southern extremity of 
Lake Michigan, as shown on all maps previous to 1818. To this 
line Mr. Pope objected fur the following reasons, which are copied 
from Ford's History of Illinois: 

"By the Ordinance of 1787, there wore to be not less than throe, nor more than 
"five States in the torritor.v northwest of the Ohio river. Tlie boundaries of 
these States wei-e defini'd by that hvw. The three States of Ohio, Indiana, and 
Illinois were to inohido the whole territory, and were to be bounded by the 
Britivsh possessions in t'iuiada on the north. But Congi-ess reserved the power, 
if they thoroatter should tind it expedient, to form one or two States in that 
part of the territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through 
the southerly bend of Lake Michiofan. That line, it was generally supposed, 
■was to be the north boundary of Illinois. Judge Pope, seeing that the port of 
•Chicago was north of that (line, and would be excluded by it from the State, 
.and that the Illinois and Michigan canal (which Wiis then contemplated) would 
issue from Cliicago, to connect the great northern lakes with the Mississippi, 
.^jid thus bo pnrtly within and partly without the State of Illinois, was thereby 
Jed to a critical examination of the Ordinance, which resulted in a clear and 



Predlotions Fulfilled. 335 

satisfaitoiy conviciion, that it was comiietmit ibr Consjress to oxtemi the boun- 
daries of a new State as iar north as tliey pleased ; and he found no diiticulty in 
convincinjT others ot the eorrectness of his view.s. 

But there were other and much more weiyhty reasons for this change of 
boundary, which were ably and successfully ur<j:ed by Judsye Fope upon tie at- 
tention of Congress. It was known that in all confederated republics th<M-i^ was 
danger of dissolution. The irreat valley of the Mi>sissippi was tilling up with a 
numerous people ; the original eontederat-y had already advanced westward a 
thousand miles, across thtj chain ot mountains skirting the Atlantic; the atljoiu- 
ing States in the western country were Avatered by rivers running from every 
point of the compass, converging to a focus at the continence of the Ohio and- 
Mississippi at Cairo ; the waters ot'tlie Oliio, Cuud)eriand and Tennessee rivers, 
earned much of tlie commerce of Alabama and Tennessee, all of Kentucky, con- 
siderable portions of that of Virginia. Pennsylvania and New York, and the 
greater portion of the commerce of Ohio and Indiana, down \)\ tlie Point at 
Cairo, (situate in the extreme south of Illinois,) where it would be met by ihe 
commerce to and irom the lower Mississipj[)i with all the States and territories 
to be formed in the immense country on the Missouri, and extending to the 
head waters of the Mississippi. Illinois had a coast of 150 miles on the Ohio 
river, and nearly as much on the Wabash ; the Mississippi was its western 
boundary for the whole length of the State ; the commerce of all the western 
country was to pass by its shores, and would necessarily come to a focus 'at the 
mouth of the Ohio, at a point vdthin this State, and within the control of Illi- 
nois, if, the Union being dissolved, she should see proi:)er to control it. It was 
foreseen that none of the great States in the west could venture to aid in dis- 
solving the Union, without cultivating a State situate in such a central and 
commanding piosition. 

What then was the duty of the national government ? Illinois was certain to 
be a great State, with any boundaries which that government could give. Its 
great extent of territory, its unrivalled fertility ot soil, and capacity for sustain- 
ing a dense population, together with its commanding position, would in course 
of time give the new State a very controlling influence with her sister States 
situate upon ti;e western rivers, either in sustaining the" federal union as it is, 
or in dissolving it, and establishing new guvernments. If left entirely upon 
the waters of these great rivers, it was plain that, in case of threatened disrup- 
tion, the interest of the new State would be to join a southern and western con- 
federacy. But if a large portion of it could be made dependent upon the com- 
merce and navigation of the great northern lakes, connected as they are with 
the eastern States, a rival interest would be created, to check the wish for a 
western and southern confederacy. 

It therefore became the duty of the national government, not only to make 
Illinois strong, but to raise an interest inclining and binding her to the eastern 
and northern portions of the Union. This could be done only through an in- 
terest in the lakes. At that time the commerce on the lakes was small, but its 
increase was confidently expected, and indeed it has exceeded all anticipations, 
and is yet only in its infancy. To accomplish this object etfectually, it was not 
only necessary to give to Illinois the port of Chicago and a route for the canal, 
but a considerable coast on Lake .Michigan, with a country back of it sufficiently 
extensive to contain a population capable of exercising a decided influence upon 
tlie councils of the State. 

There would, therefore, be a large commerce of the north, western, and cen- 
tral portions of the State afloat on the lakes, for it was then foreseen that the 
canal would be made : and this alone would be like turning one of the many 
mouths of the Mississippi into Lake Michigan at Chicago. A very large com- 
merce of the centre and south would be tound. both upon the lakes and the 
rivers. Associations in business, in interest, and of friendship, would be formed, 
both with the north and the south. A State thus fiituated, having such a de- 
cided interest in the commerce, and in the preservation of the whole confeder- 
acy, can never consent to disunion ; for the Union cannot be dissolved without 
a <livision and di.«ruption of the State itself. These views, urged by Judge 



534 The Central Key, 

■Tope, obtained the unqualified asspjit of the statosmtn of 1S18 ; and this feature 
of the bill, for the admission of Illinois into the Union, met the unanimous ap- 
probation of both houses of Congress. " 

That the wisdom of Mr. Pope has been amply verified bv events 
which liave transpired since 1860, is apparent to. every one. The 
interest of Chicao^o was united by the strongest ties which com- 
mercial relations could bind, both to the north and the south, and 
iiad the southern limits of Wisconsin included the city of Chi- 
cago, the State of Illinois would have been under the complete 
control of southern influences durinsr the earlv stages of the 
lebellion, with but slender ties to bind her to the north. On the 
hypothesis that this State turned the scale in favor of the Union 
when the question trembled in the balance, the geographical po- 
sition of Chicago may, with no impropriety, be called the centre 
ke}'^ of the nation. Such it was deemed by Mr. Pope when the 
]ilace had but tw^o white families as residents — John Kinzie and 
Onilimette; and it is not too much to say that to the broad-guage 
spirit of Chicago, representatives in the councils of the nation, 
the administration has sometimes looked for support in issues 
of dithcnlt solution. Xor is it too much to say that the posi- 
tions which have from time to time been talcen by the people of 
Chicago on the vital questions of the day, have been sustained in 
our national policy (not necessarily because Chicago came to their 
support), but because her people were sufficiently cosmopolitan 
to comprehend the situation, and see at the first glance the i*eal 
wants of the nation, for the obvious reason that within her toils, 
the East, the Soutli and the far "West are drawn. 

At this time the ]\Lississippi river was teeming with fiat boats 
engaged in the carrying trade of western productions to market, 
by the way of New Orleans. Six hundred and forty-three of 
these rude vessels were counted by a passenger, in his passage by 
steamboat np the river, on a trip in 1818.* 

This early ciiannel of western commerce has now a rival along* 
our lakes, which has already eclipsed it in importance, and points 
to their shores as the future metropolitan centres of trade and 
artisan ship. : 

*Niles Register, Vol. XIV, p. 344. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

The Fur Trade of Canada Under a French Charter — Tht 
Hvguenot Sailoi's — Dutch Rivalry— The Hudson Bay Com- 
pany — The Northwest Comjtany Its Rival — The Two Com- 
panies Merged into One — The American Fur Company 
binder John Jacob Astor — Astoria Foinuled^ and Tal'en by 
the Hudson Bay Company— Mr. Astor Begins Aneio at 
Macliinaw— Hardihood of the Engagees — The American 
Fur Company Establish a Branch at Chicago — Gurdon S. 
Hubbard as Clerk for the American Fur Company — An'ives 
at Chicago — His Report of the Place— Descends the Des- 
plaines — His Report of the Indians and their Wigwams — 
Hostile Repartee with an Indian — The Factory bystem — 
First Wedding in Chicago — Great Indian Treaty at Chi- 
cago — Governor Cass Opens the Council — Three Thousand 
Indians Eat Rations at Government Expense — Speech of 
Metea-^C olonel E. Childs" Description of the Country. 

Soon after Charaplain Imd made the first permanent settlement 
of Canada at Quebec, in 1608, it became evident to his patron 
sovereigHy the French king, that the fur trade was the great f^ec- 
nlar interest of the country. Indeed, its magnitude was too 
tempting- a bait even for the court of France, and it compromised 
its dignity by establishing a control over it by which it should 
reap a portion of its profits. Accordingly the company of St. 
Malo was formed, with chartered rights, paying a tribute to tiie 
French Id-ng, offset with plenary power to dole out privileges to 
the miserable courier du bois of Cnnada to obtain furs as best 
they conld, and sell them to* the company at stipulated prices. 
Serious abuses soon grew out of this monopoly, and the king was 
■obliged to cast abont for more competent men with whom to en- 
trust the patent, or, rather, men who would .not abuse the trust 
by conniving at a contraband trade and sharing its illegitimate 
-profits. !Now the king was in a dilemma. It was all important 
4,0 him that Canada should have no taint of heresy (which meant 



3J?r> Th^ Hudson Bay Comjumy. 

Protestantism! aiul vot anumu' all liis suhircts it was tlifficiilt, if 
not impossible, ulway* to select matei'ial tor ]>«)sitii>ns of trust 
witlutut rei'otiTse to the Huguenots, M'ho really were composed 
of the most etticient men of France at t'lat time. Under this 
pressure, two llug-uenot brothers, tlie Pel'aens, were appointed 
to succeed the company of St. ^lalo in 1621. They immediately 
sailed for Quebec, and as niio-ht be supposed, enlisted a crew of 
Huijuenot sailors to man their vessels tor the carrying trade. Ail 
went smoothly till their arrival at Quebec, where the psalm sing- 
ing and prayer of the custotnary morning and evening devotions 
of tliese conscientious seamen oti'ended the priests, as well as 
Champlain, the governor.* Here Mas a fresh difficulty, that 
threatened a dead-lock on the start; but the matter was compro- 
mised by allowing the sailors to pray as usual, but not to indulgt> 
in psalmody while in the harbor of Quebec; "A bad bargain,'' 
said Champlain, the governor, "but the best I could n)ake." 
Under these auspices the fur trade was resumed, and it soon 
brought increased revenues to the crown. Traders and priests 
advanced into the wilds — the former to gather crops of furs, and 
the latter crops of souls. These were the incentives which pushed 
French discovei-y into the up])er lakes, and over the prairies and 
into the forests, where now crops of corn, instead of furs, are har- 
vested. 

The next drawback that affected the Canadian fur trade, was 
the rivalship of the Dutch at Albany. They could 'buy in the 
cheapest market and sell in the dearest, unshackeled by roral 
tributes. This competition augmented the animosity which 
nationality and religion had already enkindled between the Cana- 
dian and English settlements, and it was fanned to a tlame in 
1T54:, when the French and Indian war commenced. 

This war having resulted triumphantly to the English, in 1755)' 
the whole fur trade fell into their hands as soon as they could 
take possession of the immeiise country then embraced withiit 
the limits of Xew France, and thus remained till the American 
Revolution had shorn from them the fairest portions of their late 
conquest. Notwithstanding this, however, the immensity of the 
English piossession in those far northern regions that grow the 
best furs still ensured to the English the fur trade with no 
diminution in its volume. The Enirlish ctunpanv eniraued in it- 
was chartered in 1070, under the name of The Hudson Bay Com- 
pany. It, had no rival till one sprung into existence in 1805, 
civlled the North AA^est Company. The latter pushed their trade 
into forest recluses never before entered by white men, carrying 
tlie Indian trade to remote Indian lodges with a success that 

•To verify this, the reader is referred to any detailed history of New Fraiice.. 



The Aiiiii'lcan Fur (\ini2>i:in/. 337 

astonished tlie old coiii]">any, and in a i'cw years foreed thcin to 
take in the new eonipany as ]iartners. Thns tlie two rival inter- 
ests were merged into one stupendous body, under direction of 
the most wealthy and influential lords of the British reahn. 

Thus matters stood till ISOO, when John Jae(»l> Astor, of Kew 
York, formed the bold design of bearding the British Lion in 
his den, bv establishini>- The American Fur Conuiany, under a 
charter from the State of New York. Tlie tirst steps to be taken 
in the grand designs of this comjiany, was to establish a perman- 
ent station on the Pacitic Coast, at a locality which could com- 
mand the liussian trade as well as that of the Indians along the 
coast. The first ship destined for this enterprise, sailed from 
New York in Sept. 1810, doubled Cape Horn, and arrived at the 
mouth of the Columbia River the next year. A fort was built 
and named Astoria, in honor of the illustrious man who con- 
ceived the enterprise. As might be supposed, the Hudson Bay 
company looked upon this venture as a piece of un]>arallcled 
audacity, especially inasmuch as the English at that time claimed 
(Oregon as their own territory, ancl they set themselves about the 
accomplishment of the ruin of their fearless rival. The next 
year, 1S12, a pretext was oifered them, to fulfill this design by 
the American declaration of war airainst Eno-land. AAHien the 
Hudson Bay (\). learned this they attacked Astoria, took the Amer- 
icans prisoners, took possession of the station, and changed its 
name to Fort George. This was a severe blow to ]\[r. Astor, 
but he was by no means disheartened; no further steps could 
be taken to rojviir the damaues while the war lasted, especially as 
the British fleet swept the lakes, and their emissaries were almost 
omnipresent among the northern tribes of Indians along these 
w^aters. But as soon as the war had closed, Mr. Astor, with char- 
acteristic energy, determined to begin anew, and established his 
headquarters at Mackinaw, as a base of operations. This was an 
undertaking not less bold than arduous. A small army of men 
must be employed to carry on the operations of the company, 
from every one of Mhom were expected services which would be 
looked upon as too hard for the efl'eminate men of our day. Even 
the confidential clerks wbo took charge of the goods, enjoyed 
no immunity from the hardships of camp life in the wilderness, 
where the wolves prowled around their camp, ;ind the owls talked 
and laughed with them at midnight* Hajipily for ]\[r. Astor, 
there was already an efficient force in the field, who had hitherto- 
acted, each one for himself, without the advantages which come 

_*'rhese birds will answer a hitman voice in the stillness of the night, and 
give lioots in such quick succession as to resemble laughing, which fact is ascer- 
tained from personal experience of the writer. 



338 The Engagees. 

from large and concerted movements, and were ready to co-oper- 
ate with him, inasmuch as he could make it for there interest to 
do so. 

Ramsey Crooks and Rohei-t Stuart were selected from these, to 
whom was oivon the control of the whole Northwest. From 
Miehilimackinac, their base of operations, they sent men into every 
nook and corner of their ten-itory, where the Indian and the 
beaver lived and grew. 

At Montreal they established a house under charge of Mr. 
J\[athews, to enlist the men for service, both as clerks and voy- 
ageurs. The hitter manned the boats called batteaux, into which 
tlie goods M'cre packed and rowed to the various stations through- 
out the wilderness, at which places they were unloaded, and the bat- 
teaux mied with furs to be sent on their return trip to Mackinaw. 
Their record forms a page in our history never to be reproduced. 
Their daily routine was hard labor in rowing the heavy laden 
batteaux or carrying them and their freights across portages. 
At night the roof that covered them was the sky, their bed the 
earth, and they were liappy. They were all Canadian French, 
trained to servility, and toughened into almost incredible endui'- 
ance by hard usage. The lion. James R. Lockwood,""'^' of Prairie 
du Chien, in a paper read before the State Wisconsin Ilistorial 
Society says of them: 

The trader.'^ and their clerks -were then the aristocracy of the country : and to 
a Yankee at tirst sit^lit, presented a singular state of society. To sec y-entlinnea 
selectin.y wives of the nut-broAvii natives, and raisir.jy children of mixed blood, 
the traders and clerks living' in as nrurh luxury as the resources of the country 
would admit, and the otgagces or boatmen living upon soup made of hulled 
corn with liarely tallow enough to season it, devoid of salt, unless they pur- 
chased it themselves at a higii pric^^ — all this to an American was a novel mode 
of living, and appeared to be hard fare ; but to aperson acquainted with the habits 
of life of the Canadian peasantry, it would not look so much out of the way, as 
they live mostly on pea soup, seasoned with a piece of pork boiled down to 
grease, seldom eating pork except in the form of grease that seasons their 
soup. With this soup, and a piece of coarse bread, their meals were made ; 
hence the change from pea soup to corn is not so great, or the fare much worse 
than that which they had been accustomed to, as the corn is more substantial 
than peas, not being so iiatnlent. These men engaged in Canada generally 
for five j'cars for Mackinaw and its dependencies, transferable like cattle to any 
one who wanted them, at generally about 500 livTCs a year, or in our currency, 
about $!So H-'>; furnished with a yearly equipment or outfit of two cotton shirts, 
one three point or triangular blanket, a portage collar, and one pair of beef 
sboes ; being obliged, in the Indian country to purchase their moccasins, to- 
bacco, pipes, and other necessaries, at tlie price the trader saw fit to charge for 
them, (lenerally at the end of five years, these poor roi/ageurs were in debt 
from fifty to one hundred and fifty dollars, and could not leave the country 
until they had paid their indebtedness ; and the policy of the traders was, to 

='Mr. liOekwood was bom in Clinton. K. Y., in 17'J3. He emigrated to Groen Bay in lSl;i, 
and lins ever .since been u resident of Wisconsin or Illinois, always living a temperate life, 
*i,nd always a steadfast champion of justice. 



Chicago Branch of The American Fur Company. 3B9 

Ivpep as many of them in the country as they conUl ; and to this end they al- 
lowed and encouracred their ewqagees to get in debt during the live years, wiiich 
■of necessity requireil them to remain. 

These new hands were by the old voi/agcnrff called in derision, niaiigeiirs de 
Inrd — porh-eatevs — as on leaving- Montreal, and on the route to Mackinaw, 
they were fed on pork, bard bread, and pea soup, while the old n i/ageiirs in 
tiie Indian country ate corn soup, and such other food as could conveniently be 
procured.* These niauiiviir^ tie JanI were brought at considerable expense and 
trouble from Montreal and other parts of Canada, frequently deserting after 
they had received some advance in money and thtnr equipment. Hence it was 
the object of the traders to kecj) as many of the old roi/ai/eitrs in the country as 
they could, and they generall.y permitted the maitfieurs de lard to get largely 
in debt, as they could not leave the country and yet back into Canada, except 
b\' the return boats or canoes which brought the goods, r.nd they wouhl not 
take them liacls: if they were in debt anywhere in the country, which could be 
easily ascertaiiu-d Irom the traders at Mackinaw. 

The whole couiitrv at that time was divided into districts by 
the Aiiierieau Fur Cuni})any, each having a princi])al director 
who superintended tlie clerks and voyao-uers detailed to his sfti- 
tion from the parent oiiice at ^Mackinaw, allotting- to each his 
especial territory. 

In the year ISIT, the enterprising house of Conant & Mack, 
Mdiose headquarters were at Detroit, had established a branch 
fur trading station at Lee's place, on the south branch of the 
('liicago river, under tlie supei'intendence of Mr. John Crafts. 
AVhen the American Fur Company came to establish a branch at 
Chicago soon aftervvai'ds, a rivalry of interests would have fol- 
lowed immediately if both establishments had kept on; but 
rather than attempt this, the Deti'oit honse sold out to tiieiVmer- 
ican company, who in turn employed their men at once, inas- 
much as they were on the ground, and familiar with the required 
duties. To Mr. Crafts was given the superintendence of the post 
at Chicago, as a part of the bargain, and the former agent of the 
company, Mr. John Baptistc Beanbien was displaced. Mr. 
Craft's territory included the Eock river and Fox river countries, 
besides the immediate neio-hborhood of Cliicaa'O. 

Among the most efhcient agents of the company was Antoine 
Dechamps. This gentleman had the agency of tlie whole State 
of Illinois, except the portioji taken ont for the Chicago Agency. 
Jle was a man of education and talents, botli versatile and eifec- 
tive. If any imjiosing ceremonies auiujig the Catholics were to 
have place, the i)riests always invited him to take a part, and his 
counsels were equally sought after by the Indians who could 
readily discrinyinate between minds of high and low degree, 
lie was one of the lirst founders of Opa (Peoria), at which place 
lie liad been a law-giver and kind of deputy priest among his 
people, the French, previous to its relentless destruction un- 



* The experienced voj/rtgeursi are called liiiornans or iv'mtcrers, according to 
Snelling's work on the' Northwest. ■ L. C. D 



340 Early Days of a Chicago Pioneer. 

der Captain Craig, as spoken of in a previous chapter. As agent 
of the American Fur Co., Mr. DeChamp's head-qnarters were 
located at various convenient places in southern Illinois. 

Such was tlie situation of Chicago and the contiguous country 
in ISIS, as reported by Gurdon S. Hubbard, who is at this time, 
18S0, a well known citizen and living witness among ns. At 
that time he was a lad in his 16th year, residing at Montreal 
with his parents. Anxious to get into the fur trade he offered 
his services as clerk to Mr. Mathews, its agent there. His youth 
was an objection, and no encouragement was given him. But by 
dint of perseverance, during the winter of 1817-8, Mr. Mathews 
iinally agreed to take him providing his father wonld sign the 
indenture papers binding him to serve the company live years, 
at 8120.00 per year. He did not believe the father wonld sign 
an indenture by which his son was to be taken into the wilds, out 
of the reach of his protecting care. Xor did the father believe 
that Mr. Mathews would take so voung* a striplin<2: into a ronsh 
service which required a more tenacious pith than sixteen year& 
would be able to furnish. But between the mutual doubt of 
both the contracting parties, by making the bond contingent 
from one to the other, young Gurdon managed to lobby his bill 
through both houses and became duly engaged for a five years' 
term. 

On the 13th of May, ISIS, everv thino; was readv, and the 
clerks and voyagers, 130 in all, started in thirteen batteaux, bound 
for Mackinaw. Their way lay up the St. Lawrence river, and 
along the shore of Lake Erie, to Toronto, thence by a portage to 
Lake Sinicoe, crossing wdiich another portage w^as made to K^ot- 
awasauga river, down which they rowed to lake Huron, thence 
along its northern shore to Mackinaw. Here they arrived on the 
4th of Jnly, and yonng Hubbard was immediately set at work in 
the warehonse till the middle of September. He was then de- 
tailed into the Illinois brigade, nnder Mr. DeChamps, and start- 
ed for his destination alono- the eastern shore of lake Michioan. 
Doubling its southern extremity, his party, consisting of about 
100 men and twelve batteaux, containing the goods, arrived at 
Chicago about the first of November, 181S. 

Here Mr. John Kinzie lived in the house he first occupied 
before the massacre, following his occupation of silversmith, rely- 
ing chiefly on the Indians for patronage. Xo wonder these 
simple children of nature looked upon him who could make and 
repair fire locks for their guns as a marvelous jn-odigy as well as 
an indispensable man among them. These mechanical accom- 
plishments, associated as they were with ability to give wise 
counsel tempered with the spirit of justice, placed Mr. Kinzie so 
high in the estimation of his swarthy friends, that his social 



The Portiuje Throwjh Mml Lal'e. 341 

position had transcended tlie angry passions of war, as alreadj 
sliown in preceding pages. His family consisted of ^o\\n 11., 
who has ever since lived at Chicago till his death in 1S05.* and 
was highly esteemed as one of her able bnsiness men; Eleanor, 
Avho afterwards married Alexander Wolcott, Indian agent, and 
Maria, who married General Hunter, and is now living with her 
husband at "Washington ; liobert A. late United States paj-master 
iit Chicago, who died Dec. 13th, 1S73, and was buried in Grace- 
land Cemetery, and Mrs. Helm, daughter of Mrs. Kinzie by her 
first husband. Her fathei-, Captain McKillip, was an officer in 
the British service at the time of AV ay tie's campaign. Besides 
the Kinzie family was the family of Antoine Ouilimette, a French- 
man, with a Pottawatomie wife and four children: J. B. Beau- 
bien was then awav on some tour throuo-h the country, and these 
two families, besides the garrison, composed the entire population 
-of Chicago, except the Indians, who at that time Avere fur more 
numerous than the whites, throughout the entire country. And 
had they been told that the new comers M'ould eventually crowd 
tliem out and occupy the country themselves, such a prediction 
■would have been received with no small measure of astonishment 
:and indignation. 

After resting at Chicago three days, during wliich time young 
Hubbard was the guest of Mr. Kinzie, he started with his party 
for their destination, which was the territory under the superin- 
tendence of Mr. DeChamps. The batteaux were again loaded, 
and they paddled up the ti-anquil waters of the south branch of 
the Chicago river, sending tiny ripples among the tall grasses on 
-each bank of the stream, which were then but a monotonous al- 
luvial of mud, in no respect different from what they were when 
Marquette first passed them, one hundred and fifty-six years and 
two mouths before. After rowing about to the present site of 
Bridgeport, a portage had to be madQ to the Desplaines. This 
was a laborious task. The water was nnusually low, and mud 
lake, the natural estuary between the two streams, was an unin- 
viting succession of mud-bars and stagnant pools, where sun fish, 
frogs and tad])oles were huddled together in close quarters. See- 
ing the work before them, it was deemed advisable to encamp 
till the portage could be made without damage to the store of 
goods of which their ireight consisted. This done, package after 
|)ackage was carried o-n tlie shoulders of the men nine miles to 
the banks of the Desjilaines. The empty batteaux were polled 
or dragged through Mud lake and transported to the DesplaiiK^rs 

*He died June 21st, on lioard the cars, near Pittsburgh. He had convei-sed 
in his usual vein of agi-eeaVtleness to the last moment; and was in the act of 
giving alms to a poor woman, when he expired without warning. 



342 Indian Architecture. 

\\\\\\ the goods, but not without many a lieavv strain. After tlia 
portage was made and the party were gliding down tlie Des- 
plaines, congratuhiting themselves that they sliould meet no more 
obstructions on their way, they suddenly came upon sand-bars in 
the river that in its low stage of water extended from shore to 
shore, and the goods had to be again taken out of the batteaux 
and carried over them, as well as the batteaux themselves. By 
these tardv advances tlie Illinois river was finallv reached, down 
which thev paddled their wav to linallv disband into small 
parties, each of whieli had some particular station allotted to 
them respectively, as a trading post under the general direc- 
tion of Mr. DeChamps, the agent. 

The Pottawatomies were then the all-prevailing Indian power 
of central and nortliern Illinois. Their principal village was- 
near the present site of Utica,on the Illinois river, and numbered 
about 2000 inhabitants. At the mouth of the Mazon river they 
had a village of 700 inhabitants, of which "Wabansie was chief. 
They also had villages at Cashe Island on the Desplaines, at Mount 
Joliet, Kankakee, and various other places besides Chicago, all of 
which Mr. Hubbard reports wnth accurate details of theirsocial con- 
ditions, and the style of their architecture, if an Indian camp- 
deserves that name. They were nuide of tlags, woven and lapped 
ino-eniouslv together, like a web of cloth. This was wound around 
a frame work of poles set up in a tripod, or rounded at the top 
and bent over so as to form a cone-shaped roof Through this an 
aperture was made at the top for the smoke to escape. The tioor 
consisted of mats spread around the outermost circumference, while 
the centre was the bare ground, on whicli the fii*© was made 
Around this all could sit in a circle facing each other. Their beds 
were skins thrown over the mats. The door was an opening in 
the wall of drapery enclosing the lodge, over which a blanket or 
skin was suspended. All slept soundly in this simple shelter witli- 
out fear of burglars, and many a night has my informant, Mr. Huli- 
bard, reposed after the toils of camp life in these lodges with his In- 
dian friends. Almost all of Mr. Hubbard's experience was of a. 
friendly character, but on his way towards St. Louis he made -x 
short stop at Peoria, in company with Mr. DeChamps, and at this 
place encountered a beligerent Indian which adventure he has; 
told in Ballance's History of Peoria, as follows: 

Chicago Dec. 30th, 1867. 
C. Ballaxce, Esq. 

Dear Sir: In reply to yours of the 26th. I have to say that I was in Peoria the 
last days of 1818, for the first time, on my way to St. Louis passinar there, re- 
turning about the '20th November, and wintering about one mile above Henne- 
pin. It was my first year as an Indian trader. 

As we rounded the point of the lake, above Peoria, on our down trip, noticed 
that old Fort Clark was on fire, just blazing up. Reaching it, we found abouti. 
200 Indians congregated, ei joymg a WcU'-diiuce, painted hideously, with scalps 



Traffic With The Indians. 343 

on their spears and in their sashes, which thej' had tak^m fi'om the lieads of 
Americans in the war with Great Britain, i'roni.l812 to 1815. They were danc- 
ing, rehearsing their deeds of bravery, etc. These were the only ]u'opIe then 
there or in that vicinity. I never knew of a place called Creve-Cceur. . . . 

I have a vivid recollection of iny first arrival there. A warrior, noticing me 
(then a boy of 16). asked MY. DesChamps, the chief of our expedition, who I 
was. Ho replied that I was his adopted son, just from Montreal; hut this was 
not cre<lited. The Indian said I was a young American, and seenied tlisposed 
to quarrel with me. Des Champs, wishing to mix with the Indians, left a man 
on the boat with me, telling him not to leave, but take care of me. not to go 
out. Through this man, I learned what the purport of the conversation was. 
The Indian remained at the bow of the boat, talking to me through this man, 
who interpreted, saying, among other thuigs, that 1 was a young American, 
and taking from his sash scalp after scalp, saying they were my nation's, he saw 
I was frightened. I was never more so in my life, fairly trembling with tear. 
His last effort to insult me wa,s taking a /o»,(7-/;rt/;'ef^ .scalp, . . . (Here the 
Colonel describes the particular way in which the Indian made it very wet, and 
then proceeds) and then shaking it so that it sprinkled me in the face. In a 
moment all fear left me, and 1 seized Mr. DesCharap's double-barreled gun, 
took good aim, and fired. The man guarding me Avas standing about half way 
between us, and, just as I pulled the trigger, he struck up the gun, and there- 
by saved the life of the Indian, and perhaps mine also. It produced grt*at con- 
fusion, Des Champs and all our men rnnnincr to their boats. After a short con- 
sultation among the old traders, Des Champs ordered the boats to push out, and 
we descended the stream and went down three or four miles, and camped on the 
opposite side of the river. That was the first experience of hostile array with 
my red brethren. Yours, etc., 

G. S. HUBB.\RD. 

After each party of Mr. De Cliamp's men ]iad distributed 
themselves at various stations, which were generally on tlie bank 
of some stream, the hrst business was to secure their goods in a 
hind of store built of logs, in the rear of the building in which 
they lived. This done, all but two or three sallied forth into the 
back country, in squads of two or more, to seek the locality where 
the Indians were transiently encamped for a hunt. Having found 
them, the bartering began. Blankets, knives, vermilion and 
trinkets were spread in tempting display, as a shopman would 
exhibit his goods in show windows. The furs obtained for these 
M'ere carried back to the stations, and a new recruit of goods 
brought out for exchange. In this way the winter was spent, and 
when spring opened, the whole corps of traders returned to 
Mackinaw^, with their batteaux loaded with the results of their 
winter's trade. 

The Indians gave up the fur hunting, and betook themselves to 
their lodges in tinje to dig up the ground with sharp sticks and 
plant a crop of the ever essential corn for subsistence. This rou- 
tine was repeated annually by the traders and Indians, till the 
beaver and other fur-bearing animals vanished before the plow 
and spade of civilization. 

Besides the garrison and the American Fur Company at Chicago, 
was the Indian afjency, an indispensihle institutic»n wherewitlTto 
settle disputes which might arise between them and the whites, 



34-i Factory System. 

and to keep tliem in good hnmor by the judicious distribntion of 
occasional ]H*esents. This was established in 1817, shortly after 
the completion of the fort, and Charles Jowett,* of Kentucky, 
appointed to its charge with a salarj' of one thousand dollars per 
year. The factory system established at various places- on the 
frontier had for its principal object the fulfillment of such clauses 
in Indian treaties as bound the United States to supply them 
with goods for sale, but the energy and thrift of private enterprise 
always outrivals any pi'oject undertaken by the unwieldly ma- 
chinery of government. Hence the establishment of the Ameri- 
can Fur Company soon made the U. S. factory at Chicago a useless 
institution; for although the factor, Jacob Yarnum, was instruct- 
ed to sell goods to the Indians for ten percent, less than the price 
of the same to white men, yet the Fur Company, by their superior 
facilities for sending goods into the depths of the forest, were 
able to monopolize the trade by underselling the factor, and as a 
consequence, his duties as agent for the Government were assigned 
to the authorized Indian agent, and the factors' offices were 
always discontinued soon after private enterprise had fulfilled the 
necessary conditions of supplying the Indians with goods. 

The following' letter from Mr. Varnum to the superintendent of Indian 
affairs at "Washington, was evidently written with a commendable desire to en- 
largfe the sphere of his usefulness to the Government nt a time when the 
American Fur Co. were monopolizing the trade with the Indians; 

United States Factory, Chicago, June 20th, 1819. 
The exclusion of foreigners (the Hudson Bay Co.) from the Indian trade will, 
it is believed, justify the extension of the operation of this establishment. This, 
together with the consideration of the large supply of blankets and cloths now 
on hand, induces me to recommend a distribution of the goods of this factory 
among the adjacent villages for trade, to such an extent as will insure the sale of 
nearly all by the expiration of the trading season. Such a measure, I am well 
convinced will be highly gratifying to the Indians, as a great number by this 
means will be enabled to supply themselves with goods on more reasonable 
terms than could otherwise be done; nor do I apprehend any difficulty in effect- 
ing it to the advantage of the Government, as gentlemen of unquestionable in- 
tegrity have already applied for such outfits. JACOB R. A^ARKUM. 

The above propoi?ition was declined in a respectful letter from the Supt. at 
Washington. See Am. State Papers, Vol. II, p. 361. 

Mr. Hubbard, after his return to Mackinaw in the spring of 
1S19, was the next winter detailed to Michigan, and did not pass 
throuo-h Chicao-o a^ain till the fall of 1820, at which time he was 
on his way back to his old trading ground in Illinois, with the 
same companions. 

No change had taken place in Chicago; the same garrison was 
there and Mr. Kinzie's and Ouilimette's families still lived in 
contentment amidst their wild associations, hardly dreaming of 

* His name is spt'lled .Fowett in the State Papers but in the histories of the day 
incorrectly spelled Jtwett. 



Great Indian Treaty at Chicago. . 345 

wliat was soon to become a reality around them in the way of 
settlements. 

In the year 1S16, Alexander Wolcott, of Connecticut, suc- 
ceeded Mr, Jewett as Indian agent. Miss Eleanor Kinzie was 
then a blooming miss of twelve. She certainly had no rival 
charmers to alienate the affections of her suitor, Mr. AVolcott; or 
if she had, it is fair to assume that she would have eclipsed them, 
for the happy couple were married, Mr. John Hamlin, a justice 
of the peace from Fulton county, Illinois, officiating on the occa- 
sion, the two lovers, with commendable serenity, waiting many 
days for him to be sent for for that purpose. This may be set 
down as the first weddino^ ever celebrated in Chicago accordiu": 
to the approved style of modern days. Its date was 1820. 

The next year, 1821, an event ttiok place which was significant 
of the progress of settlements in the country, as well as of the 
waning fortunes of the Indians. The country on the east bank 
of Lake Michigan was in undisputed possession of the Pottawat- 
omies, the Ottawas and Chippewas, each holding their respec- 
tive portions; but the settlements of Michigan were rapidly 
trenching' on their o-rounds, and the Indians were not unwillino- 
to sell out to the United States, under an assurance that west of 
the lake an asylum was open to them. A treaty was therefore 
proposed for the purpose of purchasing their lands, and Cliicao;© 
selected as the place for it, and the time appointed for its session 
was late in August, 1821. Lewis Cass, governor of Michigan, 
and Solomon Sibley, acted in behalf of the United States; and a 
large band of Indian chiefs (among whoin Metea, the Pottawat- 
omie, was conspicuous) united their wisdom to make the best 
terms they could with the United States in parting with their 
country. 

At the time of this treaty, Henry P. Schoolcraft was on his 
way from St. Louis to his headquartei-s, as Indian Agent, near 
the outlet of Lake Superior, and his account of this great Indian 
council at Chicago, which place he passed while it was in session, 
is detailed in his usual lucid style in his book entitled "Travels 
in the Central Portions of the Mississipj^i Yalley,'' published in 
1825. ^ 

But first, let us listen to his description of the great fossilized 
tree, which was found in this early day in the Desplaines river, a 
little above its junction with the Kankakee. Of it he says: 
"The part whicli is exposed, accoi'ding to our measurement, is 
fifty-one feet and a few inches in length, and its diameter at the 
largest end three feet. But there is apparently a considerable 
portion of its original length concealed in the rock."'^ After ex- 

*Thomas Tousey, Esq., of Virg-i. ia, visited that locality the next year, and 
verifies Schoolcraft's description of tliis remarkable petrifaction. 



346 Rations for Three Thousand Indians. 

amining this tree, Mr. Schoolcraft passed Mount Joliet, which he 
accurately describes, and with his party passed on up the west 
side of tlie Desplaines to tlie fording place, not far from the pres- 
ent site of Kiverside. After crossing he says: ""We found the 
opposite shore thronged with Indians, whose loud and obtrusive 
salutations caused us to make a few minutes' halt. From this 
point we were scarcely ever out of sight of straggling parties, all 
proceeding to the same j)hice. Most commonly they were moun- 
ted on horses and appareled in their best manner, and decorated 
with medals, silver bands and feathers. The gaudy and showy 
dresses of these troops of Indians, with the jingling caused by 
the striking of their ornaments, and tlieir spirited manner of 
riding, created a scene as novel as it was interesting. "'^ * 
* * After crossing the south fork of the Chicago, and 
emerging from the forest that skirted it, nearly tlie whole number 
appeared on the extensiv^e and level plain that stretches on the 
shore of the lake, wliile the refreshing and noble spectacle of the 
lake itself, wuth 'vast and sullen swell,' appeared beyond." 

To accommodate the numerous delegation who gathered at 
Chicago, at this council, great preparations had to be made at 
the expense of the government. Kations must be issued, not 
only to the chiefs who took part in the deliberations, l)ut to all 
who came as spectators to grunt out gutteral approbation to the 
various speeches to be made. These numbered over 3000; they 
had wearily toiled around the southern extremity of Lake Mich- 
igan, and reached Chicago with a keen relish for the " mess of 
pottage for which their birthright was to be sold, and he who 
would deny this poor pittance to them ought to be branded with 
anathema. The northern bank of the river immediately oppo- 
site the fort was the spot selected for the council, within the 
range of its guns — perhaps as a measure of caution. In the 
center of the grounds an open bower was erected, with rustic 
seats for the chiefs. Two or three days were taken up in for- 
malities essential to the etiquette of Indian customs in all im- 
portant negotiations, and the council was opened by a speech, 
from Governor Cass, setting forth the objects of the convention, in 
which the politic orator emphasized ^lis words describing the 
benefits resulting to the Indians through the money and goods 
they were to get for their lands, and after reminding them that 
their country was now nearly destitute of game, formally pro- 
posed to t)uy it, generously offering to let them still retain por- 
tions of it till wanted for settlements, although they were receiv- 
ing annuities for the same. 

A short pause ensued after the respectful attention which the 
Indians had given to this speech, and after two days considera- 



Cession of Indian Lands. 34T 

tion, Metea replied to it in his happiest vein of oratory. The 

following are extracts from it. 

" My Father, our country was given to us by the Great Spirit, who gave it to 
us to hunt upon, to make our corn fields upon, to live upon, and to make our 
beds upon when we die ; and he would never forgive us should we now bargain 
it awiiy. When yon first spoke to us of the lands of the St. Marys, we said we 
had a little, and agreed to sell you a piece of it ; but we told you we could spare 
no more. Now you ask us again. You are never satisfied ! We have sold you 
a great tract of land already ; but it is not enough ! We sold it to you for the 
benefit of your children, to farm and to live upon. We shall want it all for our- 
selves. We know not how long we may live, and we wish to leave some lands for 
nnr children to hunt upon. You are gradually taking away our hnnting grounds. 
We are growing uneasy. What lands you have you may retain, but we shall, 
sell no more. You think perhaps I speak in passion, but my heart is good 
towards you. We have now told you what we had to say. It is what was de- 
termined on in a council among ourselves ; and what I have spoken, is the voice 
of my nation. But do not think we have a bad opinion of you. We speak to- 
you with a good heart, and the feelings of a friend." 

Governor Cass replied to this speech, indulging in soft words- 
not unjustly applied, as due in the main to the lionor and good 
faith of the Indians, to which various Indian Chiefs i*eplied in, 
the usual style of Indian oratory. John Kinzie also made a 
speech, in which he refuted a charge of non-fulfillment of treaty 
obligations on the part of tlie United States. These delibera- 
tions lasted till the 23d, pending which no one doubted, either 
white or Indians, that tlie latter would come to the terms re- 
quired of them and sell tlieir lands, but no signs of yielding the 
issue were yet manifest in the impenetrable countenances of the 
cliiefs, as the council was closed on this day by one of the chief&- 
who said : 

"My Father, it is late; I shall do no more to-day; but to- 
morrow you shall hear our final council. Yon are hungry by 
this time. You white men eat at certain rixed hours; we In- 
dians do what we have to do and eat when it is convenient. 

The deliberations lasted till the 29th, when the treaty was 
signed by both parties. 

The Indians made a cession of their lands in Michigan, 
amounting to over five million acres, for which the Pottowato- 
mies were to receive an annuity of five thousand dollars per an- 
num for twenty years, in specie, and the sum of one thousand 
dollars expended annually among them during the time to sup- 
port a blacksmith and a teacher, and the right to immediately 
construct roads through the territory ceded, connecting Detroit,. 
Fort AVayne and Chicago, was guaranteed. 

The Ottawas were to receive a perpetual annuity of one thous- 
and dollars, and for ten vears the sum of fifteen liundred dollars 
expended annually to furnish them a blacksmith and a teacher. 

The next year, 1822, passed ofi' with few incidents to diversify 
the seeming inanity of life on the frontier. The officers of thet 



348 Narrative of E. Childs. 

garrison, together with the few citizens of the place, amused 
themselves with hunting, fishing, and such sports as their infin- 
ite leisure could invent in their immunitj' from the burdens of 
society, as it now is. Their supplies for subsistence were 
obtained from Detroit by a sailing vessel in her annual trip, and 
also from Southern Illinois, up the Illinois and Desplaines rivers, 
to this then obscure post, environed by a hundred miles of wilder- 
ness, without an inhabitant except the Indians. The following 
report from Col. Ebenezer Childs, of LaCrosse, to the State His- 
torical Society of Wisconsin, will give a faithful picture of the 
•country at this date: 

In 1821 1 made a trip to St. Louis in a bark canoe up Pox River, across the 
Portage, and down the Wisconsin to Prairie du Chien, and thence down the 
Mississippi. I was sixteen days on my journey, and saw but seven white men 
in the whole distance, outside the forts. 1 met one keel-boat on the Mississippi 
bound up for Fort Armstrong at Rock Island. There was a small garrison 
•opposite the mouth of the Des Moines River. There were but few Americans 
and few Spaniards at St. Louis; the inhabitants were mostly French. There 
was but one brick building in the place, and no buildings were located on Front 
street, or where the levee now is. 1 encamped on the sand beach, near where 
the old market is located. I remained two weeks, did my business, when I was 
advised to return by way of the Illinois River. 

I started by that route, and the next day was taken down with the ague and 
fever, and the day following one of my men was also taken with the same com- 
plaint, which left me with one Indian and one Frenchman to paddle my canoe. 
I did not provide a sufficiently large stock of provisions when I left St. Louis, 
presuming that I could get plenty on the Illinois. But all I was able to obtain, 
was one ham full of maggots, and one peck of Indian meal. I saw but one 
■house from the mouth of the Illinois to Fort Clark, where Peoria now is. at 
which latter place one French trader resided. When we reached there, I was 
■completely exhausted, and remained a few days to recruit a little, when we left 
to prosecute our journey. We continued up the Illinois to the junction of the 
Kankakee and Eau Plaine, and thence up the Eau Plaine to where I supposed 
we had to make a portage to Chicago River; but I could not see any signs of 
the portage. There had been heavy rains for several days, which had so raised 
the streams that they overflowed their banks. I concluded that I had gone 
far enough for the portage, so I left the Eau Plaine and took a northeast direc- 
tion. Atter traveling a few miles, I found the current of the Chicago River. 
The whole countr,v was inundated; I found not less than two feet of water all 
the way across the portage. 

That night I arrived at Chicago, pitched my tent on the bank of the lake, and 
went to the fort for provisions. I was not. however, able to obtain any; the 
commissary informing me that the public stores were so reduced that the gar- 
rison were subsisting on half rations, and he knew not when they would get 
any more. 1 went to Col. Beaubein, who furnished me with a small supply. 
I found two traders there from Mackinaw; and as my men were all sick, I 
■exchanged my tent and canoe for a horse, and took passage on board the 
Mackinaw boat as far as Manitowoc. One of our party had to go by land and 
jride the horse. There were a*" this time but two families residing outside of the 
iort at Chicago, those of Mr. Kinzie and Col. Beaubein. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

The Name Chicago First Appears on School Atlases — The 
Mysteries Beyond — Adventures of James Galloway and 
What Grew out of Them — Arrival of The Clyhourns at 
Chicago — Chicago Surveyed and Laid Out in Village Lots 
— The Winnehago Scare — The Illinois and Michigan Ca- 
nal Located — Civil History of Early Chicago — County 
Organization — Adjacent Settlements — David McKee'a 
Narration. 

There are yet many persons living tlirongliout tlie JSTorthwest, 
but little past middle age, who were born in the old fashioned 
New England cottage. It stood upon a level sward of green, but 
scanty in extent, among the diversified hills and valleys around^ 
Near its side door was the well, with its "old oaken bucket" sus- 
pended from the elevated extremity of the well-sweep by means 
of a slender pole cut from the adjacent woods. The kitchen was 
the largest and most important room in the house. One door 
led from it directly into a parlor half its size, but this door was 
seldom opened except when distinguished guests came to occupy 
the room sacred to their entertainment. Two other doors oi:)ene(i 
into bedrooms below, and a stairway led directly to apartments 
above, used for sleeping rooms or clutter-lofts. The fire-place 
was large enough to accommodate a large baking oven, reached 
tlirough an aperture in the jamb on the right hand side, where 
the "rye-Indian" bread and pork and beans were baked. All 
provident husbands kept on hand a stock of fine-split dry wood 
to heat the oven — hence the old familiar couplet: 

" You must be kind, you must be good, 
And keep yom- wife in oven wood." 

The fuel used for heating the room in the winter was a green 
rock-maple back-log, in front of which small dry wood, laid upon 
two iron " fire-dogs," burned brightly, and in the long winter eve- 
nings pine knots were used, that blazed with such brilliancy as 



350 Chicago on The School Atlas. 

to send a n^laring- Hglit into the remotest part of the kitchen. Bj 
tlieir liirht a bashful suitor to one of the dauo-hters would lose a 
few games of checkers with lier brother, who had nothing to dis- 
tract his attention. While this was going on, the fair one sits 
nearer the lire, busj' with her slate-pencil and arithmetic. When 
nine o'clock comes, all retire but the two lovers; but before doing 
this, the lather assures the young man by inviting him nearer 
the lire. The invitation is accepted, not without some reserve on 
the jjart of the young man as he draws U]) to the fire, and conse- 
quently nearer the object of his afi'ections. All these old-fash- 
ioned ways are changed now, but yet some of the cottages are 
still standing that have witnessed them; and let us look into one 
of their garrets and see if we can find something to freshen our 
memories of early days. The garret is lighted by a six-light 
window in each gable end, fitted M'ith seven-by-nine glass, and by 
their light we will look for what we wish to find. Here are the 
treadles of the old loom, that '"mother's" feet have pressed with 
measured round as she twilled the web she was weaving; the 
spiuning-whcel, and the wooden " finger" with which she turned 
it into a sonorous hum. Here is the old hand-reel, two feet long, 
with a cross-bar on each end like a T. Here is the flax-wheel and 
its distafl', with some of the toM' still clinging to it. ISText comes 
the old " foot stove." It is a sheet-iron box set in a wooden frame, 
in which a small sheet-iron dish of live coals is placed, on which 
" mother's" feet rest while she sits in church in the winter, be- 
fore the introduction of stoves. Ah! here comes something that 
would make the tears channel down the crow-tracks of age, if 
these original tenants of this piece of furniture could see it. It is 
the old wooden cradle, from the sides of which the hands of 
" mother" have worn off the paint in her ejffbrts to rock to sleep 
her rollicking babies. It is full of a medley of cast-oft" relics — 
hand-cards, old newspapers, old copy-books filled up with straight 
marks, pot-hooks and curves. At the bottom are the old school- 
books; among which are Marshall's S]>elling-book, the English 
Eeader, the Columbian Orator, Mun-ay's Grammar, and lastly, 
Woodbridge's Geograph.y. This is what we have been looking- 
for all this time, for on it the name "Chicago" first made its ap- 
pearance in our school-book literature. 

It was suggestive of reckless adventure far beyond the re- 
straints of civilization; a place around which clustered Indian 
tents, ornamented with scalps hung out to dry as we boys 
stretched our coon skins on boards, and he who would dare to go 
there must be a prodigy of pluck. Beyond this j^lace on our 
school maps interposed a vast plain between lake Michigan and 
the Mississippi river, on which were names of Indian tribes 
whose pronunciation set our stammering tongues at defiance. 



Western Mysteries. . 351 

St. Anthony's Falls, Prairie du Cliien, Ft. xlrmstrong, on Iioek 
Island, and Ft. Madison, at the Des Moines Rapids, were the 
only names on the Upper Mississippi above St. Louis, except the 
inevitable nomenclature of Indian names, which were always 
such a puzzle to us. 

The Mississippi river was as far M'est as our maps of the Uni- 
ted States went; but on the map of North America the immense 
void between this river and the Pacific coast was filled up with 
large spaces lettered tinexplored/ and on its extreme western 
verge was a stiff range of mountains, studding the Pacific coast 
like the bold headlands of a river. Here the majestic forces of 
nature crowned the mountain tops with everlasting snow, and 
warmed the valleys with j^erennial spring. Here were tenantless 
deserts and basins below tide water, having no connection with 
the sea — so our geographies said. Whatever else was there was 
left to conjecture, and our timid imaginations would paint the 
sublimest grandeurs of savage life, basking in the assurance of a 
perpetual lease among their mj'sterious and impregnable fast- 
nesses. 

Our fathers, from whose fanciful imagery the wire edge had 
been taken off b}' the adaptation of ways and means to en(^, 
looked more practically upon the matter, and saw a glorious fu- 
ture spectacle opening before the world in the development of 
this exhaustless region of supply, though now beyond the limits 
of civilization. They beheld the vast chain of lakes on the map 
extending into the interior of a continent almost to the dividing 
ridge of the Mississippi Yalley, with an eye to the useful. Here 
unmeasured plains must be upturned by the plow, farm houses 
erected, churches, school houses and highways must be built, 
cities laid out, and all the ornamentation which belongs to them 
must be introduced. Where was to be the central metropolis of 
these productions of man's handiwork in the great plateau of 
j^ortli America — the high and salubrious plain from whence the 
Mississip2:)i found its sources, where the great inland seas secreted 
their waters, like reservoirs for the use of a nation? The solu- 
tion of this was yet a sealed book whose secrets were to be re- 
vealed in their own fortuitous way. Little by little the question 
has been ansv;ered as the progress of private and public enter- 
prise has unveiled the destiny of Chicago. 

The first settlers along-the alluvial intervals of the rivers in 
Ohio and Indiana, especially in the wooded districts, had a sorry 
experience for the first few years; not for want of supplies 
M'herewith to subsist, for these were easily obtained from the 
forest, but the fever and ague was ever present during the mala- 
rial months of spring and fall, and few escaped it sooner or later. 
It was not generally known then that the Illinois prairies were 



352 Adventures of James Galloway. 

almost exempt from this scourge, and even if it had been, it& 
great distance into the wilds was an objection to emigrants wlio 
journeyed west in their own wagons. 

At the close of the war of 1812 James Galloway, a native of 
Pennsylvania, emigrated to Erie Co., Ohio, in this way, where 
he lived till 1824. He then resolved to try his fortune on the 
Illinois prairies at or near Chicago, where the ague was less 
prevalent than at his home in Ohio. AVith this end in view he 
obtained a wagon with much exertion, and secured the services 
of a Mr. Slater, an experienced trapper, to accompany him to his 
new destination. On the 1st of September, his outfit, consisting 
of a gun, an Indian ton ahawk, ammunition, steel traps, blankets 
and a sack of corn meal, was ready, and the two started with a 
horse and wairon, westward into the wilds. Besides shooting the 
necessary game on which to live as they traveled day after day, 
they set their traps near their encampment each night, and thus 
obtained a stock of furs which increased daily, till their arrival 
at Ft. Wayne. Here they disposed of them and resumed their 
journey through the forests, following militar}'- roads or Indian 
trails, to St. Joseph, w^hich was the next point to be reached. 
Thence they followed the old Indian trail which had for many 
years been a well known route from Detroit westward around the 
southern extremity of Lake Micliigan, thence branching off in 
various directions to important points in Indian estimation, such 
as Chicago, Kock Island, and the Illinois river at Starved Rock» 
Mr. Galloway and his companion took the Chicago trail. It led 
principally along the sands of the lake and brought them directly 
to the spot by a better road than the average path through the 
wilderness. Here Mr. Galloway made the acquaintance of Billy 
Caldwell and Alexander Robinson, two notable Indian chiefs, 
often mentioned in preceding pages, and a Scotchman named 
Wallace, all of whom showed him many favors, and subsequently 
were of essential service to him. Besides these, Mr. Galloway 
mentions Mr. John Kinzie, Dr. Woolcott and Ouilimette, as 
permanent residents, and several others who were only transient 
visitors at the place. Such was Chicago, late in the autumn of 
1824. 

After sufficient rest, Mr. Gallowa}'- with his companion started 
into the interior, and arriving at the present locality of Marsailles 
they found a squatter named AVeed. Of him Mr. Galloway 
Ijought his title, which was nothing more than a moral claim to 
twenty acres of land of which he had taken possession and im- 
proved with a log cabin. Here he wintered and made prepara- 
tions for a home. The following spring he returned to his family 
in Ohio by way of the lakes, and suddenly surprised them by his 
appearance in their midst without warning, as no means were 



Advent arcs of Jmiies Galloway. 353 

then at hand to coTninunicate from one distant point to another, 
and they had received no tidings from liim since he had left liome 
the previous falL His adventures were soon tokl, and his plana 
laid to emigrate to Illinois. The next year every thing was made 
ready, and he with his family .embarked from Sandusky, in 
October. Their vessel landed at Detroit, where, after making a 
Nveek's stop, it sailed for Mackinaw. ITere the captain fell among 
some boon companions, and wasted a week's fine weather in dissi- 
pation, although the season of autumnal storms was near at hand. 
About the middle of October the final start was made for Chicago 
during a severe storm. The vessel rode the waves successfully 
till rounding the island of St. Helena she struck a rock and sunk 
on the beach within three or four rods of the shore. Fortunately 
all the passengers readied ^Jie land, but through a drenching rain, 
and here they remained two days without shelter, amidst the 
tamarac swamps of the w'ild place, living on such provisions as 
could be saved from the stranded vessel in the contusion of tiie 
hour. Mr. Galloway had on board 150 bbls. of Hour, 90 bbls. of 
salt and 15 bbls. of pork. The salt was entirely lost, but the 
flour and pork were unloaded in order to repair the vessel. The 
repairs were made by two ship carpenters who fortunately hap- 
pened to be on board as passengers. This done, the merchandise 
was re-loaded, except what was lost, and the vessel again put to 
sea, bound for the port from whence she had last started, Mack- 
inaw, which they reached after two day's sail by dint of hard 
pumping to keep the disabled vessel afloat. Here the American 
Fur Company had a vessel commanded by Capt. Hansom, about 
to sail for Chicago, on her annual trip. Mr, Galloway's griefs 
did not end here, for he was obliged to submit to extortionate terms 
in order to secure a passage for his freight and family. Besides 
paying $60.00, it was stipulated that on arriving at Chicago the 
most valuable portion of the freight should be placed in the 
hands of the American Fur Company, where it should remain 
till the 10th of the toUowing May." Ort arriving at Chicago^ 
however, Mr. Galloway, through the assistance of the passengers 
managed to get the flour and pork, one spinning-wheel, and one 
loom into his possession. The Fur Company i-etaining 1 bbl. 
cherry bounce,! bbl. peach brandy, 1 bbl. vinegar, perhaps on 
the ground that they could appreciate the use of these articles 
better than a pi'ivate family. 

There were thei\ no temperance societies to bring consolation 
to Mr. Gallou-ay for the loss of this questionable merchandise, 
all of which he had made himself, pure and tasteful. This, how- 
ever, was no time to despond; provision for the winter must be 

*The reasons for this unusual demand were not stated by my informant. 



354 A ! renMivt's of James Galloir<nj. 

made iiiiinediatcl)', and under very adverse circumstances. His 
quarrel with the American Fur Coni])anj had made it impossi- 
ble for him to get quarters in Chicago where their influence 
was ])otent, and but for the kindness of Alexander Ilobinsou, he 
might have been obliged to cam j) out all winter. He "owned a 
vacant house at Hard Sci'abble (Lee's place), and offered it to 
him rent i'rce, which proposal Mr. Galloway accepted, and at 
once occupied the place with his famil}' for the winter. 

Jose])h LaFromboise, Mr. Wallace, a Mr. AVeicks, and an In- 
dian trader (well known to some of the old settlers of Chicago, 
still living) named Barney Lawton, were at the time living at 
Lee's place, and were near neighbors to Mr. Galloway. Now tlie 
tide began to turn with him; Mary, his oldest daughter, was a 
comeh' miss of fourteen years, and began to receive invitations 
to dances and other social gatherings at Chicago, and though the 
prudential mother declined these overtnres, she often entertained 
Chicago soci< ty at her house, and frequently on these occasions, 
were brought back to her bottles of the delectable, drawn from 
tlie Malmsey butt, which the Fur Company had retained unjustly, 
as Mr. Galloway claimed, and in this. way these free wines were 
shared partially by the original owners, not as a measure of jus- 
tice, but with that air of profusion Avhich often accompanies dis- 
t^ipation in its early fascination, ere its excesses have crossed the 
Rubicon between decorum and degradation. When this line of 
iemarkation was left to the censorship of public opinion only, 
its restraints were stronger and more salutary than when the tem- 
perance issue is complicated with politics to lacquer over private 
schemes with a shallow diguise of public good, as is sometimes 
tlie case now, particularly in large cities. But Chicago at this 
time was only a trading post, and was subject to little or no re- 
straint except what grew out of a natural discrimination between 
justice and injustice, and though it was made up with savage life 
and the active spirits of civilized life, that brimmed over its con- 
fines, yet no acts of violence were committed, and in the main 
the ends of justice were answered and the people averaged as 
temperate then as now. 

The fur trade was the great interest of the place, and it would 
have been premature at that time to have attempted the intro- 
duction of any other, farther than to supply the limited wants of 
the place. Ouilimette kept a flock of sheep by dint of much care 
to protect them from the ravages of the wolves. The flesh of 
these animals found a ready market for home consumption, but 
the wool was a drug, and Mr. Galloway purchased what he want- 
ed of it for twenty -five cents per pound. This the industrious 
Mary carded, spun, and knit into stockings, which she sold readily 
It from seventy -five cents to one dollar a pair, according to the 



ArcJi'thald Chjhourn Arrivt'S at CuIckjo. 355 

lenirtli. This vonngMiss is now, 18S0, Mrs. Arcliibald Clybouni, 
rt'>i(liiiu on Elstoii Ave., Chicago; and to her is the vvi'iter in- 
<lobtcd for the preceding facts relating to her fatlier. In the 
spring following their residence at Lee's place, 1827, her father, 
Mr. (Talloway, moved v.ith his fatnily to the home he had pur- 
'cliased the year before. His trans]iortation to the place was 
effected by means of a large boat fashioned on the dng-ont plan, 
Avhich he made lumself from a black walnut tree, on the banks of 
the Chicago river. Taking advantai>;e of the usual spring freshets, 
lie navigated this vessel, freigh.ted with his family and all his 
valuables, through Mud lake and down the I)es])laines and Illi- 
nois rivers, to his home. The place was then called the Grand 
Rapids of the Illinois. Plere Mr. and Mrs. Galloway s])ent the 
remainder of their days, highly esteemed by all who knew them. 
Mrs. Galloway died iirisaoi and Mr. Galloway survived till 1864, 
■when lie died, and many of the ]U'esent inhabitants of Chicago 
will d 'ubtless remember readins^ the becomin<): obituarv notices 
which the Chicago papers gave of him at the time. 

In a former cha])tei% the adventures of Margaret and Eiizal)eth 
McKenzie were related, and it will be remembered that Elizabeth, 
after having been raised from her childhood among the Shaw- 
anese, married a Mr. Clark, a trader near Detroit, by whom she 
had two cliildren, John K. and Elizabeth Clark; and her father 
getting news from her and his older child Margaret, sought and 
found them, and both of the captives left their husbands, and 
with their children returned with their father to Virginia, their 
old home. Soon after their return, Elizabeth married a Mr. 
Jonas Clybourn, and Mr, Archibald Clybourn, so well known 
as one of the esteemed earlv citizens of (-hicao-o, was the oldest 
son of this union. Brim full of the spirit of adventure, nurtured 
into activity by the associations of frontier life, he made his 
appearance in the little town of Chicago on horseback, late in the 
summer of 1823. Alighting at the house of John Kinzie, he 
presented his diploma. This consisted of his elastic step, his 
honest countenance and his wiry ibrm, hardened into ready ser- 
vice by his training. He had made the long journey on horse- 
back armed with a rifle, with which to procure food on the way, 
and eqnipped with a blanket for a bed at night. His story was 
soon told to Mr. Kinzie; he was the son of Elizabeth, who was 
sister of Margaret. This reached a sensitive spot in Mr. Kinzie's 
heart, and he em]iloyed him at once as a clerk in his store, whicli 
he then kept on the north bank of the river. 
' After remaining in his service a year, young Archibald went 
back to Virginia for the purpose of bringing his father and 
mother to Chicago, as lie had determined to make the place his 
permanent home, and wished to settle his parents close by him, 



356 lieminiscences of Mrs. Clyhourn. 

where he couhl cherish and protect them in their declining years. 
In accordance with this filial resolution, they with himself, came 
to Chicago the next year, arriving on the 23d of August, 1824. 
They made the journey in a lumber wagon, John K. Clark, the 
oldest son of Elizabeth (Mrs. Ch'^bourn), by her iirst liusband, 
accomjjanying them, to assist in attending to the wants of the- 
parents on the way.* On arriving at Chicago, Mrs. Clybouru 
readily recognized the place as a familiar spot, where the Indian 
father who adopted her had taken her with his family in liis 
erratic wanderings during her captivity. Several times had he- 
been here to trade with Shawne-au-kee (John Kiuzie), and pay 
his respects to his brethren, the Pottawatomies, and Mrs. Cly- 
bourn felt all the more at home at the place for this reminiscence.^ 

On Mr. Clybourn's arrival at the place he took possession of 
a parcel of land, now known as Sheffield Addition to Chicago^ 
where he built a log house and made preparations for farming. 
Xearly the entire north half of the State of Illinois was then 
in its wild state, while the southern half was well settled, and 
Chicago was dejjendent on it for various supplies, of which beef 
was the one most wanted. To supply this demand, young Archi- 
bald, after having comfortably settled his parents, went into the 
business of butchering, and was obliged to go as far south as San- 
gamon count}^ to buy his cattle. This long trip brought him 
past the home of Mr. Galloway, on the Illinois river, which was 
a kind of half-way station between Chicago and the settled por- 
tions of Illinois. Here amidst the dreary Avastes of the broad prai- 
rie, relieved only by narrow fringes of woodland along the streams, 
Mr. Galloway's solitary home welcomed the occasional travelers 
who passed that way. This home was eidivened by the youthful 
Mary, and when young Archibald, quartereil on the hospitalities 
of the venerable father, and talked over their forest adventures to- 
gether, other thoughts came to his mind, and other emotions to 
his heart, that eclipsed even the social afhnities of backwoods- 
men. 

In the summer of 1829, a stylish carriage drawn by two mettle- 
some steeds, arrived at Chicago from over the southern prairies. 
In it were Mary and Archibald. She was Mrs. Clybourn now. 
In 1835 they built a fine brick house on their farm, which was 
then a model to be admired by every one who saw it, and at this 
time is still a respectable as well as commodious house, bearing 
the appearance of an ancient landmark of the prairies. Such it 
was for many years after it was first built, the whole country to 
the westward, being an open prairie of such exceeding fertility, 



*John K. Clark had been to Chicago four or five years previously, and it was 
owinsr to his commendations of the place that young Archibald and others came, 
as told iu a preceding chapter. 



Chicago Purveyed and Platted. -JoT 

that the orrass m many places was tall eiioiigli to liide a horse and 
his rider. At the time ot'Mr. Clybourii's marriage, 1S29, Chicago 
consisted of the several white families and persons already men- 
tioned, and a few other emigrants, whose names are not remem- 
bered by those to wliom the writer is indebted for the details of 
that early day. Besides these and tlie garrison, were perhaps a 
dozen families of half-breeds living in lints, who were more like In- 
<lians than white people, and many of them cast their lot with the 
former when they were moved westM'ard, in 1835 and '6; some of 
them were above par ii: those refined virtues which bring love and 
peace to the domestic circle; of these, several young girls liave 
been mentioned to the writer who married respectable white men, 
and whose descendants are now among our esteemed citizens. 

In 1821 Chicago and its environs were snrveyed in govern- 
ment sections."'^' In 1829 C'hicago was snrvej^ed and j^latted into 
village lots, and a maj) of it engraved and publi.«hed the. next 
year. This was done, not by private enterprise, the usual method 
■of laying out towns, but by state authority, for the pui-pose of 
aclliug lots and applying the proceeds to tlie construction of the 
canal, wdiich was to coimect the lakes with the Mississippi river. 
'This scheme had long been thought of, and the expectation of its 
ultimate fulfillment had drawn thither a little nucleus to a future 
metropolis. On the 14th of February, 1823, the legislature of 
•Illinois, then holding its sessions at Yandalia, passed an act con- 
stituting and appointing a board of canal commissioners to make 
preliminary surveys. The next year, 1824, five different routes 
were partiallv surveyed, and estinnites made of the cost of construct- 
ing the canal. Colonel R. Pan!, an engineer of St. Louis, was 
one of the board. Their highest estimate was only $716,110.60. 
Xothing more was done till January 18th, 1825, when the Illi- 
nois legislature passed an act incoi'porating the Illinois and Mich- 
igan canal, with a capital of one million dollars. The stock was 
not taken, and all hope of building the canal by the state van- 
ished. Those interested in the completion of this work, without 
which Chicago would be a forlorn hope, next looked to Congress 
for aid; and two years later, in 1827 on the 2nd of March, through 
the influence of Hon. Daniel P. Cook, it came. Every alternate 
section of public land in a belt twelve miles wide, through the 
•center of which the canal was to pass, was donated to the State of 
Illinois by the general goverument, to aid in its construction. 

Unfortunately the State was then under too heavy a load of 
debt to avail itself of this generous endowment to build the canal, 
.and its commencement was destined to be again postponed. 

Even at this date, 1827, Chicago was by no means exempt from 
Indian alarms, of which the "' Winneb^.go Scare" was no incou- 

*See cop3' Gov't Survey at Handy & Co.'s, Chicago. 



358 IIuhlKtrd's Aceoiint of TJie Winnchagp Scare. 

■ siderable one, and is worthy of notice, luoro as a record of the- 
times than as an item of liistorv as to the event itself. It has- 
been, well told l»y Gui'don S. Iluhbard and Mr. H. Cunnino-ham,, 
a citizen of I'^dpir Co., bcii^inning with the relation of Mr. 
Hubbard, as follows: 

" At tlu breaking out of the "Winnebago war, early in July, 1827, 
Fort Dearborn was witliont military occupation.* 

Doctor Alexander "Woleott, Indian Agent, had charge of the 
Fort, living in the brick building, just witliin the north stockade 
previously occupied by the commanding officers. 

The old officers' quarters built of logs, on the west, and within 
the pickets, were occupied by Russell E. Heacock, and one other 
American tamily, while a number voyageurs, with their families 
were living in the soldiers' quarters, on the east side of the en- 
closure. The store-house and guard-house were on either side of 
the southern gate; the sutler's store was east of the north gate,, 
and north of "the soldiers' barracks; the block-house was located 
at the southwest and the bastion at the northwest corners of the 
Fort, and tlie magazine, of brick, was situated about half-way 
between the west end of the guard and block-houses. 

The annual payment ot tlie Pottawatomie Indians occurred in. 
September of the year 1828. A large body of them had assem- 
bled, according to custom, to receive their annuity. These left 
after the payment for their respective villages, except a portion of 
Big Foot's band. 

The night following the payment, there was a dance in the- 
soldiers' barracks, during the progress of which a violent storm 
of wind and rain arose; and about midnight these quarters were 
struck by lightning and totally consumed, together with the 
store-house and a portion of the guard-house. 

The sleeping inmates of Mr. Kinzie's house, on the opposite 
bank of the river, were aroused by the cry of "^^r<?," from Mrs. 

* Says Will. Hickling, as to the cause of this war: 

Should any one he curious enough to inquire into the causes which led to, 
and broupfht about, this so-called " Winnebago War," let him consult "Rey- 
nolds' Life and Tunes." and also an interesting article on the subject furnished 
the Jacksonville (111.) Joiinial, August 17, 1871, by the Hon. ^Vm. Thomas, of 
that city, and which article was also reproduced in one of our city papers a few- 
months' since, nnder tlie head of *'Ffty Years Ago." 

This speck of war with a portion of our aboriginal inhabitants, on the then 
Western frontier, was caused, like too many others of a similar character, which 
for more tha'n two centuries past, have from time to time, lieen the cause which 
has deluged our frontier settlemeuts iu blood, by the wanton brutality, outrage,. 
aiid total disregard of decency and right, perpetrated by a few semi-civilized,, 
drunken white men, upou a portion of the band of Winnebagoes, then en- 
camped near Prairie du I'hien, whose motto at that time seemed to be, as is too> 
often the case now-a-days, viz: " That the poor Indians have no rights which a 
■white man is bound to respect." 



II Khbard'is Account of The Wlnn.chago /Scare. 359 

Helm, uiie of their nuinLvi", who IVoiii lier window liad seen tlie 
flames. On heariiii:' the ahinn, J, with lvoh(Mt Kiii/ie, late Pav- 
master of United States' Army, hastily arose, and only partially 
dressed, ran tt) tlie river. To our dismay, we found the canoe, 
"which was used for crossing the river, filled with water; it had 
been partially drawn up on the beach and became filled by the 
dashing of the waves. [Not being able to turn it over, and liaving 
nothing with which to bail it out, we lost no time, but swam the 
stream. Enter inii; bv the north c^ate we saw at a ijlauce the sit- 
nation. The barracks and store-house being wrapped in flames, 
we directed our energies to the saving of tlie guard-house, the 
east end of which was on fire. Mr. Jvinzie, rolling himself in a 
wet blanket, got upon the roof. The men and women, about 40 
in number, formed a line to the river, and with buckets, tubs and 
every available utensil, passed the water to him; this was kept 
np till daylight before the flames were subdued. Mr. Kinzie 
maintaining his dangerous position with great fortitude, though 
liis hands, face, and portions of his body were severely burned. 
His father, mother, and sister, Mrs. Helm, had meanwhile freed 
the canoe from water, and crossing in it, fell into line with those 
carrying water. 

Some of the Big Foot band of Indians were present at the fire, 
but merely as spectators, and could not be prevailed u])on to 
assist; they all left the next day for their homes. The strange- 
ness of their behavior was the subject of discussion among us. 

Six or eight days after this event, while at breakfast in Mr. 
Kinzie's house, we heard singing, faintly at first, was gradually 
growing louder as the singers approached. Mr. Kinzie recog- 
nized the leading voice as that of Bob Forsyth, and left the table 
for the piazza of the house, where we all followed. About where 
Wells street. now crosses the river, in plain sight from where we 
stood, was a light birch bark canoe, numned with 18 men, rap- 
idly approaching, the men kee})ing time with their paddles to 
one of the Canadian boat songs; it proved to be Gov. Cass and 
his Secretary, Robert Forsyth, and they landed and soon joined 
us. From them we first learned of the breaking out of the Win- 
nebago war, and the massacre on the Upper Mississippi, Gov. 
Cass was at Green Bay by aj^pointment, to hold a treaty with the 
Winnebagoes and Menomonee tribes, who, however, did not 
appear to meet him in council. News of hostilities reaching the 
Governor there, he immediately procured a light bii-ch bark 
canoe, purposely made for speed, manned it with 12 men at the 
'paddles and a steersman, and started up the river, making a 
portage into the Wisconsin, then down it and the Mississippi to 
Jett'erson Barracks below St. Louis, 

Here he persuaded the commanding officer to charter a steamer 



360 Shah-o-nee as A Spy. 

and embarking troops on it, ascended the Mississippi in search 
of the hostile Indians, and to giv^e aid to the troops at Fort 
Snelling. On reaching the mouth of the Illinois River, the Gov- 
ernor (with his men and canoe, having been brought so far on the 
steamer), here left it, and ascending that stream and. the Des 
Plaines, passed through Mud Lake into the south branch of the 
Chicago River, reached Chicago. This trip from Green Bay 
round, was performed in about 13 days, the Govenor's part;*^ 
sleeping only 5 to 7 hours, and averaging 60 to 70 miles travel 
each day. On the Wisconsin River they passed Winnebago en- 
campments without molestation. They did not stop to parley, 
passing rapidly by, singing their boat songs; the Indians were so 
taken by surprise that, before they recovered from their astonish- 
ment, the canoe was out of danger. Gov. Cass remained at Chi- 
cago but a few hours, coasting Lake Michigan back to Green Bay. 
As soon as he left, the inhabitants of Chicago assembled for con- 
sultation. Big Foot was suspected of acting in concert with the 
Winnebagoes, as he was known to be friendly to them, and many 
of his band had intermarried with that tribe. 

Shab-o-nee was not here at the payment, his monej^ having 
been drawn for him by his friend, Billy Caldwell, The evening 
before Gov, Cass' visit, however, he was in Chicago, and then the 
guest of Caldwell. At my suggestion, he and Caldwell were en- 
gaged to visit Big Foot's village (Geneva Lake), and get what 
information they could of the plans of the Winnebagoes; and also 
learn what action Big Foot's band intended taking. They left 
immediately, and on nearing Geneva Lake, arranged that Shab- 
o-nee should enter the village alone, Caldwell remaining hidden. 

Upon entering the village, Shab-o-nee was made a prisoner, and 
accused of being a friend of the Americans, and a spy. He af- 
fected great indignation at these charges and said to Big Foot: 
"I was not at the payment, but was told by my braves that you 
desired us to join the AVinnebagoes and make war on the Amer- 
icans, I think the Winnebagoes have been foolish; alone they 
cannot succeed. So I have come to council with you, hear what 
you have to say, when I will return to my people and re])ort all 
you tell me; if they shall then say, we will join you, I will con- 
sent." After talking nearly all night they agreed to let him go, 
provided lie was accompanied by one of their own number; to this 
proposal Shab-o-nee readily consented, though it placed him in a 
dangerous ])osition. His friend Caldwell was waiting for him in 
the outskirts of the village, and his presence must not be known, 
as it would endanger both of their lives. Shab-o-nee was equal 
to the emei'gency. After leaving, in company with one of Big- 
Foot's braves, as the place of Caldwell's concealment was neared, 
he coinmenced complaining in a loud voice of being suspected 



The Night Journey. 361 

■and made a prisoner, and wlien quite near, said, " We must have 
no one with us in going to Chicago. Should we meet any one 
of your band or any one else, we must tell them to go away; we 
must go by ourselves, and get to Cliicago by noon to-morrow. 
Kinzie will give us something to eat, and we can go on next day." 

Caldwell heard and understood the meaning of this, and started 
alone by another route. Strategy was still to be used as Sliab-o- 
nee desired to report; so on nearing Chicago, he said to his com- 
panion, " If Kinzie sees jou, he will ask why your band did not 
.assist in putting out the fire? Maybe he has heard news of the 
war and is angry with Big Foot; let us camp here, for our horses 
are very tired." This they did, nnd after a little, the Big Foot 
brave suggested that Shab-o-nee should go to the Fort for food 
and infoi-mation. This was what he wanted to do, and he lost no 
time in reporting the result of his expedition, and procuring food 
returned to his camp. Starting the. next morning with his com- 
panion for his own village; on reaching it he called a council of 
his Indians, who were addressed by JBig Foot's emissary; but 
they declined to take part with the Winnebagoes, advising Big 
Foot to remain neutral. 

On receiving Shab-o-nee's report, the inhabitants of Chicago 
were greatly excited; fearing an attack, we assembled for consul- 
tation, when I suggested sending to the Wabash for assistance, 
and tendered my services as messenger. This was at first objected 
to, on the ground that a majority of the men at the Fort were in 
my employ, and in case of an attack, no one could manage them 
or enforce their aid but myself It was, however, decided that 
I should go as I knew the route and all the settlers. An attack 
would probably not be made until Big Foot's embassador had 
returned wath his report; this would give at least two weeks' se- 
<jurity, and in that time I could, if successful, make the trip and 
return. I started Itetween 4 and 5 P. M., reaching my trading 
house on the Iroquois Biver by midnight, where I changed my 
horse and went on; it was a dark, rainy night. On reach! no- 
Sugar Creek, I found the stream swollen, out of its banks, and 
my horse refusing to cross, I was obliged to wait till daylight, 
when I discovered that a large tree had fallen across the trail, 
making the ford ijnpassable. I swam the stream and went on, 
I'E'aching my friend Mr. Spencer's house at noon, tired out. Mr. 
Spencer started immediately to give the alarm, asking for volun- 
teers to meet at Danville the next evening, with five days' rations. 
By the day following at the hour appointed, 100 men were organ- 
ized into a company, and a])pointing a Mr. Morgan, an old 
frontier fighter, as their Captain, we immediately started for 
Chi -ago, camping that night on the north fork of the Vermillion 
Kiver. It rained contmually, the trail was very muddy, and we 



362 Caved nj Sioimming tlic YeriiiilHoa. 

were obligedto' swim most of the streams and man}' of the large 
sloughs, but we still pushed on, reaching Fort Dearborn the 
seventh day after my departure, to the great joy of the waiting- 
people." 

The following particulars relating to Mr. Hubbard's, perils in 
reaching Chicago with liis volunteers and his reception there, 
are taken from Mr. Cunningham's account; edited by H. W. 
Beckwith of Danville, 111.* 

"We arrived at the Vermillion River about noon on Sunday^ 
the day after assembling at Butler's Point. The river was up, 
running, baidc full, about a hundred yards wide, with a strong 
current. Our men and saddles were taken over in a Canoe. We 
undertook to swim our horses, and as they were driven into the 
water the current would strike them and they would swim in a 
circle and roturu to the shore a few rods below. Mr. Hubbard, 
provoked at this delay, threw oft' his coat and said, " Give me old 
Charley," meaning a large, steady-going horse, owned b}'' James 
Butler and loaned to Jacob Heater. Mr. Hubbard, mounting 
this horse, l)o!dly dashed into the stream, and the other horses 
were quickly crowded after him. The water was so swift that 
"old Charley" became unmanageable, when Mr. Hubbard dis- 
mounted on the upper side and seized the horse by the mane, 
near the animal's head, and swimming with his left arm, guided 
the horse in the direction of the opposite shore. We were afraid 
he would be washed under the horse or struck by his feet and be 
drowned ; but he got over without damage, except the wetting of 
his broadcloth pants and moccasins. These he had to dry on his 
person, as we pursued our journey. 

We reached Chicago about lour o'clock on the evening of the 
fourth day, in the midst of one of the most severe rainstorms I 
ever experienced, accompanied by thunder and vicious lightning. 
The rain we did not mind; we were without tents and were used 
to wetting. The water we took within us hurt us more than 
that which fell upon us, as drinking it made many of us sick. 

The people of Chicago were very glad to see us. They were 
expecting an attack every hour since Col. Hubbard had left them^ 
and as we approached they did not know whether we were ene- 
mies or friends, and M'hen they learned that we were friends they 
gave us a shout of welcome. 

They had organized a company of thirty or fifty men, composed 
mostly of Canadian half-breeds, interspersed with a few Ameri- 
cans, all under command of Capt, Beaubien; the Americans see- 
ing that we were a better looking crowd, wanted to leave their 

* Mr. Cunningham is at this time an esteemed citizen of Danville. He was 
among the volunteers under Mr. Hubbard to go to the rescue of Chicago, and 
has related some circumstances omitted by him. 



lUijiois and 2[i<-hi(jau Camd Located. ♦ 363^ 

associates and join our company. Tliis feeliii::; caused quite a 
row, and tlie officers finally restored harmony and the discon- 
tented men went l)aek to their old command. 

The town of Chicago was compi)sed at this time of six or sevea 
American families, a nnraber of half-breeds, and a lot of idle^ 
vagabond Indians loitering about. I made the acquaintance of 
Robert and James Kinzie, and their father, John Kinzie. 

We kept guard day and night for some eight or ten days, when 
a runner came in — I think from Green Bay — bringing word that 
Gen. Cass had concluded a treaty with the Winnebagoes, and that 
we might now disband and go home. 

The citizens were overjoyed at the news; and in their gladness 
they turned out one barrel of i;in, one barrel of brandy, one bar- 
rel of whiskey, knocking the heads of the barrels in. Everybody 
was invited to take a free drink, and, to tell the plain truth, everj'^- 
body did drink. 

The ladies at Fort Dearborn treated ns especially well. I say 
this without disparaging the good and cordial conduct of the men 
toward us. The ladies gave us all manner of good tilings to eat. 
They loaded us with provisions and gave us all those delicate at- 
tentions that the kindness of woman's heart would suggest- 
Some of them — three ladies whom I understood were recently 
from New York^distributed tracts and other re;;ding matter 
among our company, and interested themselves zealously in our 
spiritual as well as temporal welfare." 

In 1829, on January 22nd, the Legislature appointed Dr» 
Jayne, of Springfield, Edmund Roberts, of Kaskaskia, and 
Charles Dunn, to locate the canal, lay out towns and sell lots,, 
and apply the proceeds to building the canal. James Thompson,, 
a surveyor of St. Louis, was employed by them to lay out Chicago 
in lots as already stated. The map which lie made of the place 
was engraved on stone in St. Louis, and bears the date of August 
4th, 1830. It was duly recorded on the county records at Peoria, 
it being the county seat of the county in which Chicago then 
was. Many lots were sold at auction the same year, and brought, 
from ten to two hundred dollars each.* 

Chicago was now re-inforced by many speculators and adven- 
turers by the official action taken as to the canal, it being looked 
upon as an incipient city, though of uncertain destiny, yet a ven- 
ture worth taking chances for; and while the villagers of the 
town were watching riie progress of the canal which was to con- 
nect their lonesome })lace to the world of progress to which they 
could as yet only get occasional glimpses, the forms of local 

* Those who wish fuller details of the action of the Illinois Legislature as to 
the building the canal, will find them in Bross' History of Chicago, published by 
Jansen, McUlurg & Co. 



364 Pioneer Civil History. 

ijovernnieTit beiijaii to be instituted as a iittiiiijj preparation lor 
tlie spliere to wliicli they aimed. Their progress in this under- 
taking has been well told by Hon. John Wentworth, in a histor- 
ical Lecture which was published by Mr. Fergus, 1876, and runs 
as follows: 

" From St. Chiir county, what is now Cook county, was set 
oif in the new county of Madison; thence in the new county of 
Crawford; in 1819 in the new county of Clark; and so little 
Avas then known of the northern country, that the act creating 
Clark countj^ extended it to the Canada line. In 1821 we were 
set off in the new county of Pike; in 1823, in the new county of 
Fulton; and in 1825 in the new county of Peoria. I have not 
only caused the county records of these counties to be examined, 
but have also corresponded with their earliest settlers, and I can 
find no official reco<rnition of Chicao-o until we reach Fulton 
•county. The clerk of that county writes me, that the earliest 
mention of Chicago in the records is the order of an election at 
the term of the Fulton county Commissioner's Court, Sept. 2, 
1823, to choose one Major and company officers, polls at Cliicago, 
to be opened at the house of John Kinzie. The retm-ns of this 
•election cannot be found, if they were ever made. As the county 
M-as organized in 1823, this, of course, was thelirst election under 
the organization of the county. The same Court ordered, April 
"57, 1824, that the sheriff, Abner Eads, be released from paying 
the monev tax collected at Chicao-o bv Rousser. In those days 
the Sherilis were ex-officio collectors of taxes. The name indicates 
that our Tax-Collector was then a Frenchman, or a mixed-breed 
French and Indian. It seems that they had defjiulters in those 
•days, as well as now. 

" The clerk of Peoria county writes me, that his earliest records 
■commence March 8, 1825. From these records I learn that John 
Kinzie was commissioned justice of the peace July 28, 1825. He 
was the first justice of the peace resi(hMitat Chicago. Alexander 
Wolcott, his son-in-law, and John J3. Pieaubien, were commis- 
sioned Sept. 10, of the same year. 

" I have also the assessment- roll of John L. Bogardus, assessor 
•of Peoria county, for the year 1825, dated July 25, which is as 
follows: 
J.\ix-Payors' Niums. Valuation Tax. 

1 Beiuibi.'n. Jolin B ^KXW $10.0l) 

2 rivlKnirne. .lonas G25 6.25 

8 Ciaik, Jolm K 2o0 2.50 

4 CIrafts, John 5000 50.00 

5 Clenuont, Ji-remy 100 1.00 

« Ooutra, Louis, -50 .50 

7 Kinzie, Jolin, 500 5.00 

5 Lafraiuboise, Claude 100 l.Op 



Vlonecr Civil Ilintory. 3(!i> 

Tay Payera' Namofl. Valuation. . Tax. 

9 l';ai'rairil)oiH(', .loHoph, 50 .50' 

10 McKci', Dii,vi(l, iOO 1.00 

11 Picho, Potei, . ; 100 l.Oa 

12 l{,ol.ii.soii. AlcxiMidor, 200 2.00 

13 Wolcotl-, Alcxaiulor r.72 5.72 

14 Wilemet [OiiilmettoJ, Antoino 400 4.00 

"Theoiitire vjiliuitioii, land then l)(!iii<>- not taxable, ofall the prop- 
erty in Cliica.i^o was f$!J,047, a-iid the rate, was one pei' cent. But the 
property of the AmeiMcan lAir (.■oni|>any waK assessed to John 
Crafts, its agent, at $r),0()(). lie was a bachelor, and died the 
next year, and Mr. Kin/.ie was appointed in liis place. .I)('.(jiict- 
ing the American Fur Company's ass(xssin(!nt, we liave oidy $4,- 
047 as tlie ]>('rs(>iial ])i-operty of (Jiiicai;Y), in iS'Jo, $40.47 as tlie 
tax, and thirteen as the number of the tax-payers. 

"The clerk sent me a copy of two-poll books used at Ciiicaf^o 
— one at an election held An<^. 7, 1S2<!, containin<^ thirty-live 
names; the other at an election held Aug. 2, lb30, containing' 
thirty-two names; thus showing a decrease of three voters in four 
years. I will read you the names of our voters in 1820, and you 
will see that only ten of the fourteen tax-payers in J 825 then 
voted: 

1 Aufynstin Batiny. [Bannot?] 19 .Tolm Biiptistn Tiiifortune. 

2 Henry Kellcy. 20 Joliii lla.plislo Malaat. 
!5 Daniel I'oiirassoa. 21 .Josciili roihicr. 

4 Ooio Ww'ks. 22 Al<'xa,ii(!('r l.'ol.iuson. 1825- 

f) Antoino Oiiilmotte. 1825 23 .Tohn K. riark. 1825 

6 John naptisLc. tSocor, 24 i);i,vi(l M(;K<h«. 1625 

7 Josci»li (Jat.io. 25 .loscpii Anderson. 

8 J^^njiimin Ifussftll. 20 .loscpli I'cpot. 

9 Hasile DiHphitti'R. 27 .Inlin Hnjitiste Beanbien. 1825 

10 Francis LalVaniboise, Sr. 2H John Kni/.in. 1825 

11 Francia JyalVainboise, Jr. 29 Arc.liiliald Olyhourne. 

12 Joseph LaiVaiiiboise. 1825 30 Hilly CiiJdwcll. 

13 Alexander Larant. 31 Miiil.in Viinsiele, 

14 Fra,MciH iiadiicior. 82 P;i,m1 .l;iiiil)Oe. 

15 Peter 0]iav<;llie. 33 Jonan Clyl)oia-ne. 1825 
Ifi (Jlaiide Liifrandwise 1825 34 Kdward Anient. 

17 Joreniial) (!lairnaoro [Clermont?] '25.35 fSaniiic! .lohnnon. 

18 Peter .lunio. 

" I will now read you the names of our voters in 1830, sliow- 
ing that only three of the fourteen tax-payers of 1825 then 
voted : 

1 Stephon J. Scotfc. 17 Stephen Mack. 

2 John B. Beaubien. 1825, 1826 18 Jonathan A. Bailoy. 

3 Leon Bonrassea. 19 Alexander MidJollo. [McDole?] 

4 B. IT. Laiit,diton. 20 .lohn H. C. Jloyan. 

5 .fcKsr. Widker. 21 David McKeo. 1825, 1826 
,6 iVIedard !'.. Beaubien. 22 Billy Oiddwell. 1826. 
7 .iohn Biiptiste Chavellea. • 23 JoHeph 'I'hibi'aut. 

.8 James Kinzio. 24 P(!t(.'r Frique. 

.9 KiiH^ell K. IFoacock. 25 Mark l!(;iiiil(i(m. . » 

1') JiuncH Brown. 26 Liiuraiit iV[ii.rtin. 

11 Ju8. Lafraniboiae. 1825,1826 27 John Baptinte Secor. 1826. 



'^><><^ Death of John Kinzie. 

12 John L Davis. 28 Joseph Bauskey. 

13 William See. 29 Michael Welch. 

14 John Van Horn. 30 Francis Laducier. • 1826 

15 John Mann. 31 Lewis Ganday. 

16 David Van Eaton. 32 Peresh Leclerc. 

It is a remarkable commentarv upon the fickleness of our 
population, that only six of tlie men who voted in 1826 voted in 
1830; and these six were half-breeds or Government employes. 
Father John Kinzle, however, died between the two elections, 
upon the 6th of Janiiar}-, 1828, aged 65.* But there were some 
not voting at the second election, such as the late Archibald 
Clybourne, his father Jonas, and half-brother, John K. Clark, who 
ended their days with us. The half-breeds and French who did 
not vote may have been away on a liunting and trading expedi- 
tion. The voters in 1826 seem to have understood their true in- 
terest, being dependents upon the fort, as evcrv one of them 
voted the Administration ticket, John Quincy Adams then being- 
President. If there were ever three men in the United States 
who electrified the whole coimtr}- with their fierv denunciations 
of the military power, they were President John Quincy Adams, 
his Yice-President John C. Calhoun, and his Secretary of State, 
Henry Clay. !Neit]ier of the tliree ever forgot Gen. Jackson. 
It would have seemed malicious, and yet quite pertinent, on the 
part of the Chicago member of Congress, to have asked either of 
these gentlemen whether it was not a singular fact that, while Mr. 
Adams was President, the people of Chicago unanimously voted 
with the fort! Ninian Edwards for Governor, Samuel H. Thomp- 
son for Lieutenant-Governor, Daniel P. Cook for Congressman, 
the Administration candidates, each receiv^ed thirty-five votes, 
being all there were. The much-complained-of military pdwer 
of the present day has never secured a greater unanimity in the 
colored vote of the South. But four years later, in 1830,. when 
Andrew Jackson w'as President, there was a material change in 

*The followinpr account of ^Ir. Kinzie's death has been learned from Mr. Gor- 
don S. Hubbard.. He remained in the fnU vig-or of health in both body and 
mind till he had a sliirht attack of apoplexy, after which his health continued to 
decline till his death, which took place in a tow months, at the residence of his son- 
in-law. Dr. Woolcott, who then lived in the brick bniUlii^o- formerly u-ed as the of- 
ficers' quarters in the f n-t. Here while on a brief visit to Mi's. Wolcott, he vfas 
suddenly attacked with apoplexy severer than ever before. Mr. Hulibard was 
then living in Mr. Kinzie's family, and was sent for. He immediately obeyed tho 
siuinnons, and on coming- into the room of the dving man, he found him in convul- 
sions, lying- on tlie floor in the parlor, his head supported by his dausrhter. Mr. 
Hubbard raised him into a sitting position, and thus supported him till he drew 
his lust breath, about fifteen minutes aftei-wards. The funeral sei-vicehad place 
at the fort, and the last honors due this old pioneer, were paid with impi-essive 
respect by the few inhabitants of the place. He was buried at the Military 
grounds south of the fort, from which place his remains were removed ultimately 
to Gi-ac.elaud Cemetery, where they now lie., — [AuxaoR. 



t Earlij Voting. '><>< 

the politics of the place. John Tveyiiolds, the Jackson candidate 
for (Tovernor, received twenty-two out of the tliirt\'-two votes 
cast.'^^ Of the six who voted at both elections, and who voted for 
the Adams candidate in 1826, five voted for the Jackson candi- 
date in 1830 ; sliowing their consistency by each time voting with 
the Administi'ation, or more properly with the fort. Billy C\Ud- 
wcll, the Sanganash, the nephew of Tecnmsch, voted the Jackson 
ticket; while Joseph Laframboise, a noted Indian chief, stood out 
and voted agaiiist it. Up to 18-1:8 we had the viva voce system 
•of voting in the State of Illinois. Each man went up to the 
polls, with or without a ticket in his hands, and told whom he 
wanted to vote for, and the judges so recorded it. But in those 
davs the masses knew as little whom thev were voting for as they 
do now. For the judges often read off the names of the candi- 
dates from the tickets, and the voter would nod his head. There 
was no chance, however, for stuffing the ballot-box nnder the 
viva voce svstem. It nniv account for the falling oii of the vote 
between 1826 r.nd 1830, that some persons would not vote the 
Jackson ticket, and yet disliked to vote against the fort. There 
Avere four of the Laframboise family voting in 1826, and onlvonc 
in 1830. The names of voters in 1826 indicate that full three 
fourths of them were French and lialf-breeds. The judges in 1826 
were Father John Kinzie, the late Gen. John B. Beaubien, and 
P) illy Caldwell. The clei-ks were the late Archibald Cly bourn and 
his half-brother, John K. Clark. The election was held at the 
Agency House, in Chicago Precinct, Peoria county. The Agency 
House was on the.]S^orth Side, and was the second house built in 
Chicago, Mr. Ivinzie's being the hrst. The Indian Aaent was Dr. 
Alexander Wolcott, who died in 1830, son-in-law of Mr. Kinzie. 

"The election of 1830 was held in the house of James Kinzie, 
Chicago Precinct, Peoria county. This house Avas on the West 
Side, near the forks of the river. The South Side had no status 
at that time, there being nothing then on that side except the 
fort and light-house building, and the log-honses of the two 
Beaubien brothers,— one residing at the lake shore, and one near 
the forks of the river, M-ith such a marsh between, that much of 
the time their most convenient way of visiting each other was 
in boats in tlie river. 

"The judges at the election of 1830, wereHussell E. Heacock, 
the first lawyer to settle in Chicago, Gen. John B. Beaubien, one 
of the judges in 1826, and James Kinzie. The clerks were 
Medard B. Beaubien, well known in this city, now principal 
agent of the Pottawatomie tribe of Indians at Silver Lake, 
Shawnee County, Kansas, and Jesse "Walker." 

* His popularity w;is due to his franlmess, whatever admimstrative pressure 
was used to elect him. — [Author. 



8(!8 Pioneer Citizens. 

The following, from Hon. Win. Bross' History of Early Chi- 
cago, continues tlie subject of civil records, etc., from the forego- 
ing extracts from Mr. AVentworth's Lecture, and is here inserted 
to give the reader the benefit of his notes fresh from the lips of 
his personal friends, as well as from his own observatian: 

" Our 6\Aq,%\j jpermanent resident in the city is Col. E.. J. Ham- 
ilton. In this view of the case, he is certainly entitled to the 
honor of being the " oldest inhabitant." He came here April 
9th, 1831, and this has been his home ever since. G. AV. Dole,, 
Esq., came here May 4th, 1831, and P. F. AV. Peck, Esq., July 
15th, of the same year. But though not living in the city lim- 
its, A. Clybourne, Esq., has been identified with it, or rather with 
the place that became Chicago, since August 5th, 1823. 

" Col. E. J. Hamilton came to this city, as above stated,'"in 
April, 1831. Cook county had been organized the month previ- 
ous, rie soon obtained a high position among his fellow citizens,. 
and at that time young, and full of energy and vigor, and not 
the man to shrink from responsibility, we wonder that he was 
not crushed with the weight of the " blushing honors" that fell 
to his share of the spoils in the new county of Cook. In the- 
course of the year, he became Judge of Probate, Eecorder, Coun- 
ty Clerk; discharged gratuitously the duties of Treasurer, and 
was Commissioner of Schools. The good Colonel would find his 
hands full w^ere he to fulfill the duties of all these ofiices at the 
■present time. We have availed ourselves of his early and accu- 
rate knowledge of events for most of the facts which are con- 
tained in some half-dozen of the succeeding paragraphs. 

"The county of Cook, in 1831, embraced all the territory now 
included in the counties of Lake, McHenrj-, Dupage, Will and 
Iroquois. At that time Fort Dearborn was occupied by tWo com- 
panies of U. S. Infantry, under the command of Major Fowle. 
The resident citizens were Mr. Elijah Wentworth and family, oc- 
cupying a house partly log and partly frame, owned by Mr. James- 
Kinzie, and situated on the ground now occupied by Mr. Korton. 
as a lumber yai-d. Mr. W. kept a tavern, the best in Chicago. 
In the vicinity of this tavern resided Mr. James Kinzie and fam- 
ily, Mr. William See and family, Mr. Alexander Robinson and 
family — now living on the Des Plaines — aiid Mr. Pobert A. Kin- 
zie, who had a store composed of dry goods— a large portion of 
them Indian goods — groceries, etc. Aero, b tiie North Branch of 
the Chicago river, and nearly opposite Mr. Wontworth's tavern, 
resided Mr. Samuel Miller and family, and with them Mr. John 
Miller, a brother. Mr. Miller also kept tavern. On the east 
side of the South Branch, and immediately above the junction 
with the ISTorth Branch, resided Mr. Mark Beaubicn and family, 
who also kept tavern; and a short distance above him, on the 



Adjacent Settlements, '5<I!> 

South Branch, resided a Mr. Bourisso, an Indian trader. Between 
Mark Beaubien's tavern and Fort Dearborn there were no houses, 
except a small log cabin, near the foot of Dearborn street, and 
used as an Indian trading house. Near the garrison, and imme- 
diately south, on the property sold by James H. Collins, Esq., to 
the Illinois Central Bailroad Company, was the residence of Mr. 
J. B. Beaubien and famil}^, who was connected with the Ameri- 
can Fur Company in the Indian trade. He had near his resi- 
dence a store, containinir such o;oods as Avere suitable to that bu- 
siness. A short distance south of him on the lake was a house, 
then unoccupied. 

" On the north side of the river, and immediately opposite the 
garrison, stood the old 'Kinzie House,' as it was commonly called^ 
which was also then unoccupied, and in a very dihipidated state. 
A short distance above, on the main branch of the river, and on 
the ground now occupied by the Chicago and Galena Railroad 
Company, stood what had been the Government Agency house, 
and known to the 'oldest inhabitant' as 'Cobweb Castle.' That 
was then unoccupied. Dr. AVolcott, the Government Agent, hav- 
ing died the fall before. In its vicinity were several small log 
buildings, for the accommodation of the blacksmith, interpreter, 
and others connected with the Agency. The blacksmith then 
occupying one of the buildings was a Mr. Mcivee, now living in 
Dupage county. Billy Caldwell, the principal chief of the Otta- 
wa, Pottawatomie and Chippewa Indians, occupied another. He 
was then Interpreter for the Agency. Col. Thomas J. Y. Owen, 
who had been the winter before appointed to succeed the late Dr. 
Wolcott, had not then taken up his residence in Chicago; G. Ker- 
cheval, who was then sub- Agent, was then here. Dr. E. Harmon, 
the father of C. L. Harmon, and James Harrington, of Geneva, 
Kane county, had taken up their i-esidence hei'c, and were making 
claims on the lake shore — Dr. Harmon where Mrs. Clarke now 
lives, and Mr, H. immediately north and adjoining." 

The settlement nearest to Chicago in 1S30, was at Napcrville, 
where Mr. kStejjhen J. Scott settled at this date, M-hei-c Willard, 
his son, now lives, 1880, still attending to his business of banking. 
Within the next two years a goodly number of settlers came to 
the place by the way of the lakes, passing through Chicago, 
which not pleasing them, they settled at ISaperville. Amono- 
them were Mr. jSTaper, for -whom the town was named; Mr. Har- 
ry T. Wilson, who is still living, in Wheaton, 111., and Hon. Ed. 
Murray, now living in Naperville, to whom the writer is indebted 
for items of historic interest. Settlements were also begun at 
Gross Point and on Fox river. 

Galena had for many years been a thriving settlement, on account 
of the lead mines, and several old Indian trails led to it from tlu^ 



rt 



TO Dixoii's Ferry. 



eoiithern extremity of lake Michigan, as well as from the settled 
portions of Illinois, whicli then extended no farther north than Ot- 
tawa. In 1825 a Mr. Kelloii-o; pioneered his way from Peoria over 
the prairies to Galena, and subsequently others followed his track, 
till it had scarred the green turf into a beaten road known by 
the name of Kelloo-g's Trail. The next year Mr. John Boles 
made the same tour, and cut across some of Mr. Kellogg's curves, 
crossing the Eock Eiver at Dixon, then a spot witliout inhabitants 
or a name. xVfter this the road was known as Boles' Trail. For 
the next few years a large travel between Galena and the Illinois 
settlements went over it, and afforded a small source of income 
to the Winnebao-oes and Sacs, in the novel method by which thev 
ferried wa^-ons over Rock Biver at Dixon, which was done bv 
placing both wheels on one side ol the wagi»n in one large canoe, 
and both on the other side in another. Thus laden, the canoes 
were padded across while the liorses being detached from the 
wagon, swam behind, led bv their bridles.* The settlements of 
Apple River and others, from ten to twenty miles from Galena, 
were made previous to 1832, and also those on the Mississippi at 
Rock Island, and at the Des Moines Rapids. Meantime, the 
demand for ferriage over the Rock River at Dixon increased, 
and a ]S[r. J. L. Begordis, of Peoria, resolved to build a flat bot- 
tomed ferry-boat there. With this intent he built a small hut 
on the bank of the river and commenced building the boat, but 
the jealous Indians looked upon it as infringement of their 
rights, and burned it. In 1828, an Indian interpreter of French 
extraction, named Joe Ogie, by virtue of having married an 
Indian M'ife, succeeded better. Ilestarled a ferry without moles- 
tation from the Indians, and in 1830, sold it to Mr. Dixon, after 
which the place took the name of Dixon's Ferry, and subsequently 
Dixon. This venerable pioneer lived till 1876, when he died full 
of honors and full of years. f 

Chicago was then in her germ cell, but during those days of 
uncertainty occasionally adventurers came to cast their lot with 
her, and among those who thus came previous to 1823, two are 
still living — Gurdon S. Habbard, whose early adventures have 
already been told, and David McKee, who came in 1822. He is 
now living near Aurora, 111., where the writer visited him 
in the summer of 1879. He was at work in his garden, scythe 
in hand, mowing the weeds around its headlands. The following 

* History of Ogle county by H. W. Boss, a present resident of Chicago. 

t Mr. John Dixon was born at Rye, Westchester Co., N. T., in 1784. On the 
loth of April, 18'20, he removed to lUinois, locating near where the city of Spring- 
field now is, where he remained four years. Thence he removed to Peoria Co., 
and from the latter place to Rock River, where he arrived on the 11th of April, 
lb:JO, and lou iht the feiiy boat of Ogie for $1800.00. 

Sherwood Dixox. 



McKeeh Narration. 371 

is his storv, substantially as it came from his lips, fresh from the 
past — ti'uthful and laconic. 

He was born in London county, Ya., in the year 1800; went 
to Cincinnati at the ag-e of thirteen, where he remained till he was 
twenty years old, when he started for Chicago on horseback, by 
the way of Ft. Wayne. Elkhart was the next settled point on his 
way, where two or three log cabins stood, inhabited by their 
lonesome tenants. Niles was the next. Here was a small set- 
tlemejit, and two miles from it a IJaptist missionary station, un- 
der the charge of Rev. Isaac McCoy, for the l)enelitof the Indians. 
The same man sometimes visited Chicago, and held religious 
services. 

At that time there were annual arrivals by sailing vessel to 
Chicago, with su])plies for the fort. On one of these some books 
were shipped for Mr. McCoy's mission, but while the vessel lay 
at anchor outside of the bar, unloading her freight, a storm came 
np and rolled the waves over it, and ruined the books, with 'other 
portions of the freight. 

He crossed the Calumet in an Indian canoe made of birch 
Dark, his horse swimming by its side, led by the bridle. There 
was an Indian village at the place, its wigwams l)uilt with webs 
>f flags interwoven together with the libre of basswood bark. 
The fibre was made bv boilino: the bark, and beating it as flax is 
made from the straw. Indian mats were made from this material, 
and used as we use carpets. They also served as beds for the 
Vidians, as well as the door for the wigwam. 

Col. J. McNeil held command of the fort at the time of his 
arrival. John Kinzie lived on the north side in a house whose 
sides were covered with birch bark, brought by the Indians 
from Michigan. The Indians made vessels for holding water, 
maple sap, etc., from this material. 

David and Barney Lawton were acting as clerks for the Amer- 
ican Fur Company. Both had Indian wives. David died at his 
brother's house, where Lyons now is. The Chicago river was 
then a clear stream, and its water was used for culinary purposes. 

Excellent fish abounded in it, and over it hovered wild geese, 
ducks and sand hill cranes in vast flocks, and pelicans and swans 
wei-e sometimes seen. Deer were plenty, and bear, wild turkeys 
ni' ' otter were found on the Desplaines. 

K.|>eaking of the Indians, says Mr. McKee, "they are better 
than white people; they always feed the hungry without regard 
to pay. In a natural state they are models of benevolence." 

On coming over the s;ind hills towards the fort, his attention 
was attracted to the battle o-round of the massacre. Tiie bones 
were gathered into two boxes, each about four leet square, and 



372 McKee^s Narration. 

buried just west of the sand-drifts, in the soil of the prairie^ by 
order of Captain Bradley. 

Billy Caldwell told him that he bm-ied the head of Cap- 
tain Wells two days after the battle, in the sand, but could .not 
find the body. 

Mr. LaFramboise told him that after the first fire at the 
battle, Captain Heald asked his soldiers if they would fight till 
death or surrender, and they chose to fight. 

For many years Mr. MeKee had dealings with Alexander Rob- 
inson, and always found him a model of uprightness. He could 
not read or. write, but managed to keep his accounts with exact- 
ness by means of characters of his own to represent quantities, 
with a pencil and paper. He was interpreter for all the Indians 
at the Chicago agency. 

Mr. McKee was gunsmith for the Indian department from the 
time of his first arrival in Chiciigo, in 1S22, till 1S27. He then 
became mail-carrier for the government between Fort Wayne 
and Chicago, and made a trip once a month between the two 
places during the year 1828. He performed the service on horse- 
back, carrying mail bag, camping equipments, and a gun to shoot 
his living on the way. Each night the earth was his bed, and the 
forage of the wilderness his horse feed. On one occasion, he was 
overtaken by an unusually severe snow storm, and for six days 
he bufifeted the tempest, painfully toiling through the drifts 
which bewildered him, on his way from J^iles to Chicago. In 
his path he found the dead body of a soldier frozen wHfiile at- 
tempting to reach Xiles. 

The first house at the fork of the Chicago river (Wolf's Point), 
Wife built by James Kinzie, (John Kinzie's oldest son by his first 
wife.) It was a log cabin with clapboard roof and sides. It was 
situated on the South side. Two or three small huts were next 
built near by it, by Canadians and half-breeds. John Hogan 
built a house on the South side opposite James Kinzie's house. 

Chicago was yet essentially an Indian town. Peltries and furs 
guns, blankets, kettles, knives, hatchets, vermilion and whisky 
were its stock-in-trade, and Indians were its supplyers and con- 
sumers.* Quiet reigned there l)ecause no one had occasion to 
offend the Indians, and when they became intoxicated, the squaws 
took care to keep sober, in order to restrain them. All this was 
soon to be changed by means of the Black Hawk war, which will 
next be told. 

*The Fottawatomies paid one- half the expense of building the first bridge, 
from the South to the West Side. — Western Annals. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

The Whmebagoes^ the Pottmnatomies, and the Sacs and Foxes 
in 1832 — Black Hawl^s Village and Cornfield Purchased 
hy the Whites — Forhtarance of the Indians — A Transient 
(J omjyromise — Governor Reynolds Calls for Volunteers to 
Drive Away the Indians — They Retire across the Jlissis- 
s'ljppi — Bad Advice of White Cloudy the Prophet — Blach 
Hawk returns to IlUonis, and Cainjps at Sycamore Creek — 
Tlie Dog Feast — llie Pursuit — The Alarm — Stillnian''s De- 
feat — Indian Creek Massacre — Flight of the Frontierers — 
General Scott Arrives at Detroit — The Cholera Among his 
Men — He Arrives at Chicago — Fearfid Ravages of the 
Pestilence — Black IIawk''s Fugitive Skirmishes in Northern 
Illinois — His Retreat-^ Battle of Bad Axe^ General Scott 
Arrives at Fort Ai-mstrong— Black Hawk Brought in as a 
Prisoner — The War Ended. 

In 1831 the Winnebagoes occupied the country on tlie Wis- 
consin River. Their whole numbers were about 1500. "White 
Loon was their princi]-»al chief. He with some of his braves 
had fouo'ht botli Wayne and Harrison, and liad ever been loyal 
to British interest during the war of 1812. 

The Pottawattomies occupied the northeastern portion of lUi- 
■nois. They haxl also fought on the British side during the war 
of 1812, but since the treaty of 1815 held with them, they had 
been subsidized into friendship by an annuity of $5,700.00. 
'Tlieir numbers were but little short of 3,000. 

The Sacs and Foxes Mere quite as numerous, and were more to 
be feared, as they liad not been brought so much under the inllu- 
•ence of the United States. Their hunting grounds laid along 
Tiock River and in the southeastern part of Iowa. Early records 
place them on the eastern coast of Michiiran, from whence they 
were driven to Green Bay, from whence they wandered to the 
^Mississippi. Here they became a formidable power and took 
part in I'evenging the death of l\)ntiac by a relentless war upon 



374 Black Hawh Determines to Defend his Home. 

the Illinois tribes. Keokuk was their principal cliief, hut Black 
Plawk rose to distinction as a subordinate chief b}'' virtue of his 
daring deeds on the war-path when a mere boy. Ever since the 
War of 1812 he had frequently visited his English father at Mai- 
den, and received presents from him as a just remuneration for 
his past services to him. 

By the treaty of 1804, held in St. Louis, in November, his- 
tribe had sold all their lands in Illinois to the United States, for 
a consideration in goods to the value of $2,234.50, and an annuity 
of $1,000, This treaty Black Hawk alleged to have been a. 
fraud, * but if it was, its provisions were confirmed by the subse- 
quent treaty of 1822, antl also in 1830, on the 15th of July, at 
Prairie du Cliieu, when Keokuk made the iinal cession to the- 
United States of all the country owned by the Sacs and Foxes- 
east of the Mississippi River. This was done without the knowl- 
edge of Black Hawk, and when the old veteran heard of it his- 
indignation was aroused, for he was always opposed to yielding 
territory to the whites. By the stipulations of this treaty the- 
Sacs and Foxes were to leave their villages east of the Missis- 
sippi the next 3'ear, and Keokuk used his influence with his- 
tribe to bring these stipulations into peaceable fulfillment. 
Black Hawk took the opposite side of the question. The merits 
of the case were from this time canvassed by the old men of the 
tribe as well as the chiefs during the remainder of the summer 
and the entire autumn of 1830. Meantime Keokuk had crossed 
the Mississippi with the majority of his tribe, while Black Hawk 
was castino about in all directions for assistance wherewith to 
maintain his ancient home on Rock River. First he went to the 
Indian agent on Rock Island, who informed him that the lands 
having been sold by the government to individuals, that the In- 
dians had no longer any right to remain on them, as the provis- 
ions of the treaty of 1804 obliged them to leave the country as 
soon as private persons had purchased the lands ceded. Not dis- 
heartened by this set-back, he went to Maiden to take counsel 
with his ancient allies, the British. As might be expected he 
was told by tliem that if the Indians had not sold their lands 
they could still remain on them in safety. On his return he 
paid his respects to General Cass, at Detroit, who gave him sim- 
ilar assurances. His resolution was now taken to defend his 
home, on the assumption that the treaty was a fraud by which it 
had been sold, and to this end he made a vain attempt to secur© 

* Black Hawk in his account of the treaty ab-eady alluded to in a preceding 
chapter, says that the treaty was made by only four chiefs of his tribe, and that 
thev signed it under the influence of intoxicating drink. See Smitlr's Wis. p^ 
114. 



Black HaivlvS Village Purchased. 375 

the assistance of the Pottawattomies, the AViniiehairoes and other 
tribes, but liis eloquence was wasted. The chiefs of these tribes 
had seen the folly of contending against the United States, and 
were determined to keep down the war spirit of their young men, 
but it sometimes required their utmost exertion to do it. 

Returning from one of his missions to procure assistance, late 
in the autumn of 1830, Black Hawk found his village deserted. 
All its inhabitants had gone north on the usual hunt to reap 
their annual harvest of furs wherewith to pa^^ old debts to trad- 
ers, as well as to barter for new supplies to satisfy their increas- 
ing wants for the rude implements of civilization. He followed 
them, and for a few weeks, at least, the griefs of this tenacious 
advocate of Indian riglits were assuaged by the excitements of 
the chase. This solace was brief ; when he with his tribe re- 
turned early the succeeding April, they found their village in 
possession of the pale faces. Tlie fur trader at Eock Island, a 
former friend of Black Hawk, had purchased the very grou'nd on 
which the village stood, and he and his associates were making 
preparations to cultivate the spacious field of seven liundred 
acres on whicli the Indians had for many years raised their corn 
for bread supply. 

It cannot be denied that this was a violation at least of the 
spirit of the treaty of ISOI:, the validity even of which was 
challenged by Black Hawk. Though this treaty ceded the lands 
to the United States, it guaranteed the right of the Indians to re- 
main on them till they were wanted for settlements ; but in this 
case the vital centre of the lands in question was purchased by 
design, while tlie frontier settlements^' of the whites were yet 
fifty miles distant. Even Keokuk was now unable to entirely 
stem the tide of indignation which arose in the Indian camp, 
and contrary to his advice a large detachment of the tribe joined 
their fortunes with Black Hawk. These, with Black Hawk at the 
liead of his band, took possession of their town and also of the 
field, nowithstanding the presence of the white claimants. It 
w^as situated between the Rock and the Mississippi rivers at their 
immediate junction. Here the Sacs had made their home for 
about one hundred and fifty years, and hard by were the graves of 
their fathers, admonishing them from the "world of the Great 
Spirit" to defend their graves. It is not to be supposed that the 
mass of Indian population could understand the binding force of 
a contract, and it is no nuirvel that their sense of justice was out- 
raged when they beheld strangers appropriating to themselves 
the soil which they had inherited. But even while writhing 
under these griefs a peaceal)le parley w^as held with the intruders 

*Western Annals Appendix. 



376 Treacherous Compromise. 

(in their estimation), and owing to the temperate counsels of 
Black Hawk his tribe were brought into a conservative humor, 
and consented to let the new claimants cultivate half the field, 
while the squaws should cultivate the other half. Under this 
compromise the squaws planted tlieir half, but as might be sup- 
posed, this insufficient attempt at palliation did not bridge over 
the chasm between the ambitions of tiie whites and the necessi- 
ties of the Indians. The former cared more for the right of the 
soil than for the crop, and a quarrel with the Indians would facili- 
tate this end. Black Hawk comprehended the whole situation, 
and with a laudable purpose hardl}' to be looked for in an In- 
dian, counseled forbearance from his people, while a little hand- 
ful of white men entered among them (as they felt) to rob 
them of their possessions ; but there is a point beyond which for- 
bearance cannot go, at least in minds of low degree, or even those 
of mediocrity. It is only the philosopher who can be patient 
over present griefs, and even he can do it only when he sees be- 
yond, those triumphs which the recoil of time are likely to bring 
to his consolation. But if Black Hawk himself was a philoso- 
pher the squaws who dug in the cornhelds were not philoso- 
phers ; the M'hite men plowed up part of the corn which they 
had planted on their half of the field, and they retorted by tear- 
ing down the fences adjacent to the white men's half, and allowing 
the cattle to come in to injure the crop. 

Pending these and other disturbances of the peace, eight of the 
white settlers united in a memorial to Governor Reynolds, set- 
ting forth their grievances, which, was presented to him at the 
executive office, then at Vandalia, on the ]8tli of May, 1831. In 
response to this memorial and several others of a similar nature, 
which Governor Revnolds states that he received, on the 27th he 
made a call for 700 militia to protect the white settlers at the 
Black Hawk village, and on the same day addressed a letter to 
General Clark, su])erintendent of Indian affairs, stationed at St. 
Louis, requesting his assistance in removing the Indians. The 
next day the governor addressed a letter to General Gaines, then 
at Jeiftrson Barracks, of similar intent. In response to these 
letters, General Clark relieves himself from further responsibil- 
ity by referring the whole niatter to General Gaines, who was the 
most proper one to act in the matter, and General Gaines replied 
to Governor Beynolds, saying: " I do not deem it necessary or 
]u-oper to require militia or any other description of force other 
than the regular army a,t this place and Prairie du Chien to pro- 
tect the frontiers." 

If Governor Jleynolds had referred the entire matter of pro- 
tecting the frontier to General Gaines, instead of calling out the 
militia himself, it is but a fair assumption that General Gaines, 



The Council. 377 

by virtue of tlie authority of tlie United States, would have 
marclied to the scene of disturbances and put an end to them by 
enforcing an even measure of justice between the two parties 
wliose disputes were limited within the boundaries of a seven 
hundred acre field of corn. But the governor had a difficult part 
to act. If he failed to call out the militia and give them a chance 
to hunt Indians, he would lose the popular favor by which he had 
recently been elected to office, and besides this he would be held 
responsible for any Indian outrages which the aggressive and 
captious spirit of the settlers on the frontier might pi"ovoke, and 
in the end the miserable Indians might be doubly victimized by 
a fiercer though tardier war upon them. 

Under these circumstances history cannot blame frank, honest 
John Keynolds for doing as he did. Complaints against the 
Indians now multiplied, and General Gaines advanced to Fort 
Armstrong on Rock Island, close by the disputed corn field and 
villao^e of Black Hawk, and here on the 7th of June, the Indians 
were summoned to a council to be held in the fort. At its session 
General Gaines, wishing to quell the war spirit among the Indians 
hy making light of their most tenacious chief, asked in derision 
Nvho is Black Hawk? At which the india;nant chief arose and 
left the counsel room with smothered rasje. The next mornino- 
•he returned and replied : 

" My father, you ask who is Black Hawk — why does he sit 
among the chiefs? I will tell you who I am: I am a Sac. My 
father was a Sac. I am a warrior and so was my father. Ask 
these young men who have followed me to battle, and they will 
tell you who Black Hawk is. Provoke our people to war, and 
yott will learn who Bhick Hawk is." 

The conference terminated by a peremptory summons from 
General Gaines to Black Hawk to leave the east side of the Mis- 
sissippi and retire to its west bank, which command the chief 
with more chivalry than policy refused to obey. 

To enforce this order. General Gaines deemed it prudent to 
wait till the 1,(500 militia which Governor Reynolds had already 
raised, and were now encamped at Beardstown, should arrive, 
who reached Ft. Armstrong after a prosperous march of four 
days. 

This interval o:ave the Indians time for a sober second thousrht, 
and on the night of the 24th they left their village, retreating 
across the river as ordered. The next day General Gaines, at the 
head of his own force of reo-ulars and Gov. Reynolds militia, who 
had joined them, advanced on the place, and on the 20th took 
possession of its deserted wigwams and cornfields. 

The incidents of the war which followed Flie next year are still 
remembered by many now living who took part in it. Many his- 



378 Good Record of the Sac and Fox Nation. 

tories of it are extent, some of wliicli have made it an opportu- 
nity to cnltivate sentimentality in favor of tlie Indians, at tlie ex- 
pense of the government. Others liave taken the opposite ex- 
treme, and while stating only truth, have omitted such portions 
as would be calculated to bring discredit to the system by which 
the Indians were driven from their lands. Some historians have 
made it an opportunity to crown the broAvs of soldiers with 
laurels. Tliey have not succeeded in this attempt, for the reason 
tliat the enemy was too insigniticant to leave much glory to soar 
above his pitiful grave. Any attempt to conceal or distort the 
conditions which sent him there cannot deceive the impartial his- 
torian who reads both sides, and compares, discriminates and veri- 
ties till the truth comes uppermost after much shaking. 
. By no authority has it been claimed that the Sac and Fox na-- 
tions from 1S16 to the commencement of the Black Hawk war 
in 1832, ever killed or personally injured a white man, and it i& 
acknowledged that during this time traders continually passed 
through their country, to and from the lead mines of Galena, 
often with large amounts of goods and money \vithout being mo- 
lested. The sum of accusations aorainst them was for tearing down 
the fences of the corn-field as just related, and during the same 
year, 1031, they were accused of destroying some goods of a trader, 
among which was a barrel of whiskey, wliich they emptied on the 
gro.ind — a common occurrence now-a-days amcmg ourselves. 

After Black Hawk and his band had retreated across the Mis- 
sissippi before the large force of General Gaines, he encamped on 
its western bank with a white flag flying over his Avretched fugi- 
tives, who had little else but this emblem of sul)mission to save 
them from starvation, and under this duress, a council, was held 
between his band and General Gaines and Governor Reynolds.^ 
It resulted in a treaty of peace, signed on the 30th of June, 1831,. 
by which Black Hawk after confirming the validity of the treaty 
of 1804, agreed to relinquish his old claims to any lands east of 
the Mississippi river, and submit to the authority of Keokuk, whO' 
with the most sensible portion of the Sac and Fox nation, were 
now peaceably settled in their new home. 

Both Governor Reynolds and General Gaines now supposed] 
the difticulty to be settled, and congratulated themselves that a 
long term of peace was assured to the frontier before the villain- 
ous whiskey traders and the volcanic red men should again em- 
broil the State in a border war.* 

*Both Governor Reynolds and General Gaines were moved with compassion, 
for the Indians in their wretchedness, and sent them a liberal supply of pro- 
visions to satisfy their immediate wants. This chanty excited some murmurs 
among the volunteers, who stigmatized the late treaty as a " corn treaty,'' and) 
said they had better give them lead than bread. 



Bad Advice, 370 

Up to this time Black Hawk and liis British band (as thej 
were called), had demeaned themselves with exemplary moder- 
ation nnder the inevitable destiny which had forced them from 
the beautiful valley of the Eoek Eiver. That they should have 
cluno; to it with firmness, and left it with painful regrets, was to 
be expected; nor is it strange that the vehement emotions that 
are a distinguishing trait in the Indian character should have 
made them cast a longing, lingering look behind, when the broad 
face of the Mississippi separated them from all their local attach- 
ments. 

The autumn succeeding the Indians' retreat from their village,, 
found them in a destitute condition. They had raised no corn, 
for it was too late to plant when they left their village; moreover, 
tliere was a large field of corn which they had planted now fully 
ripe, wliich they looked upon as their own by right, and some 
stealthy attempts being made to gather the ears under cover of 
niglit, the pilferers we're fired upon by the whites. But during 
these accumulated griefs, an affront which had been inflicted upon 
tliem two years before by the Menomonees, was not forgotten. 
This was the wanton murder of a single Sac by the offending 
tribe. To revenge this, a band of Black Hawk's men, late in the 
fall ascended theMississippi to Prairie du Chein, attacked a camp 
of Menominees and Sioux nearby, and took seven-fold vengeance 
by killing 28 of the unsuspecting and unprepared warriors. 
This was in clear violation of the treaty of 1825, and the authori- 
ties of Prairie du Chein made a demand of Black Hawk to give 
np the authors of this bloody deed, to be tried by the laws of the 
United States. JSTettled as he was by the late misfortunes which 
had overtaken him, he was in no mood to do this, and delayed 
the matter by a false pretense. 

During the ensuing winter Black Hawk's emissaries, ^N'eo- 
pope, Wisshick and White Cloud, the Prophet,* visited the Ot- 
taways, Chippewas, Pottawattomies and Winnebagoes, and pro- 
fessed to have received assurances of assistance from all of them 
in recovering their ancient possessions. Under this fatal illusion 
he assembled his people, in March, 1832, on the west bank of the 
Misissippi, on the spot where Fort Madison had been built in 
1804, long since abandoned, but now the site of the flourish- 
ing city of Madison, Iowa. Here were assembled 368 braves,. 
mounted on tough, muscular ponies, not unlike their masters, 
capable of great endurance, with slender means of subsistence, 

*White Cloud was a Winnebag-o chief, whose village was at the present site 
of Prophetstown, Jll. He was in lull sympathy with Black Hawk, acting as hia. 
oracle and orator. Both Neopope and Wisshick were also firm friends of Black 
Hawk, ever counseling war against thewhitesk 



•380 Black Haiok Returns to Illinois. 

«quaws, jaded down with unceasing toil, and their quota of 
half-clad children, shivering in the humid blasts of early spring, 
bent on a trip to their old home east of the Mississippi, probably 
not without some faint hopes of re-possessing it. 

With this purpose in view, the cavalry arm of the service, 
■consisting of the men, leaped on the backs of their ponies, and 
^vhipped the patient beasts over the spongy soil up the west bank 
of the river, while the squaM's manned the canoes, and tugged up 
stream with their materials of war, consisting of a few kettles, 
blankets, etc. How the canoes passed Fort Armstrong, on Rock 
Island, without exciting the suspicion of Gen. Atkinson, its com- 
mander, is not known. Early in April they arrived at the 
mouth of Eoek River, but little above the fort. Here they 
•crossed the Mississippi, in defiance of the treaty of the pi-evi- 
■ous year, and the whole tribe made their way up the Rock 
river, under pretense of going to their friends the Winnebagoes, 
to plant corn in their country. 

The wanderers had not passed far up the river till they were 
overtaken bv two messengers from General Atkinson, one briefly 
succeeding the other, warnino: them back to the west side of the 

Cj ~ 

river Avith threats of war if not heeded. Black Hawk replied 
spiritedly that he was determined not to go back, and equally so 
not to make war on the whites unless attacked. Continuing his 
■course up Rock river he soon came to Dixon's Ferry, where he 
paid his respects to Mr. Dixon, its proprietor, explained his posi- 
tion to him, and passed on with his fugitives, all behaving with 
•commendable decorum, carrying with them all the wealth they 
possessed, which was more ponderous than valuable. 

Governor Reynolds having heard the news of his return, imme- 
diatelv oro-anized a force of ISOO volunteers to follow him, who 
promptly assembled at Beardstown for organization in companies. 
The command of this zealous army was given to General Samuel 
Whiteside, a man of much ability and considerable experience in 
Indian lighting. Discipline oi- training of these fresh recruits, 
the contemptible character of the enemy, seemed to make unne- 
cessary, and they immediately took up tlieir march to follow Black 
Hawk's " tramps." After a hasty march in the pursuit, they 
reached Dixon, which brought them within only a single day's 
inarch of tlie object of their pursuit, Black Hawk's band, who w^ere 
■encamped but thirty miles above this ])lace on Sycamore creek, a 
tributary of Bock River. Genei'al Atkinson was now advancing 
t») the same place with the rcijulars from Fort Arnistrono-, and 
-General Whiteside thou2:lit best to wait till his arrival before ad- 
vancing further. Governor Reynolds was among the volunteers 
•^\'ho took no responsibility as to their military command, although 
Jiis authority transcended that of General Whiteside, and of hiih 



The Dog Feast Ahrupthj Broken up. 381 

in an unlucky hour, a certain Major (Stilhnan) begged the priv- 
ilege of making a reconnoisance of the enemy's camp. The 
Governor consented, and on tlic litli of Ma}'' he, at the head of 
275 volunteers, mounted on their own horses, started out in gay 
spirits on their mission, each man enjoying the stimulating re- 
flection that he was about to distinguish himself by a brilliant 
achievement. 

As they approached the camp of Blade Hawk, he was engaged 
not in the tactics of a soldier but in entertaining his Winneba- 
go friends with the impressive hospitalities of a dog feast, on 
the banks of the Kishwaukie, a tributary of Kock river, since 
called Sycamore Creek, about thirty miles above Dixon's. This 
feast was to be succeeded by a great council of Chiefs, M'hich it 
is fair to assume was intended at least to make sufhcient show of 
strength to preserve the "balance of power" in its equilibrium 
between the red and white men of northern Illinois. Tiie issue at 
stake involved the existenee of the Sac nation, as Black H-awk 
viewed it, for it is hardly to be presumed that he foresaw at that 
time the eventual ruin of his people. 

Foremost among the chiefs present was Shaubcna, he who had 
fouj^ht by the side of Black Hawk when allies of the English,, 
against the Americans through the war of 1S12. These veterans 
were bound together by ties of affection doubly strengthened by 
consanguinity. But Shaubena was fully impressed with the 
power of the whites, and though his refusal to join his fortunes- 
to Black Hawk lacerated his heart, he unhesitatingly declined to 
take up the war belt, and refusing even to attend the council, 
took his leave and made his way down Rock River towards 
Dixon. 

Shortly after his departure some of Black Hawk's hunters who 
were scouting the country in search of game, came in in breath- 
less haste, and informed him of the near approach of cavalry, upon 
which he sent out three young men to meet and conduct them to 
his camp. 

The immediate consequences are told by Governor Reyn- 
olds, as follows; that " three Indians unarmed, with a white 
flag, made their appeai-ance near the encampment. These In- 
dians gave themselves up, and were taken into custody as hostages 
by order of the ofiicers. Soon after the three unarmed Indians 
were taken into custody, six armed Indians appeared on horse- 
back on a hill three-fourths of a mile from the encampment. 
Without orders, a few soldiers and some officers commenced an- 
irregular chase of the Indians on horseback and pursued j;hem 
four or five miles. During this race in the prairie, a great por- 
tion of the troops mounted their horses and joined without orders 
in the disorder! v chase of the Indians. The whites became 



BS2 Stillman's Defeat. 

-enraged in the pursuit, and having the hest horses, overtook two 
Indians and killed them. Major Hackleton, of Fulton Co. was 
dismounted, and had a personal combat with an Indian, also dis- 
mounted. In this irregular running conflict, three Indians 
were killed without loss to the whites. In this skirmish, which 
extended over four or five miles of the smooth prairie, between 
the encampment and the mouth of Sj'camore creek, the volun- 
teers at the camp, knowing that blood was shed, attempted to 
kill the three unarmed Indians who had been taken into custody 
as hostages under ]u-otection of the white flag. One Indian was 
killed, but in the darkness and confusion the other two escaped 
unhart. At the time Stillman's volunteer's had thig running 
skirmish in the prairies, Black Hawk had many of his friends of 
the Pottawattomie nation feastino; with him on doo;-meat. The 
retreating Indians had almost reached the camp of Black Hawk 
where he was feasting, and the whites at their heals whooping, 
yelling and shouting. This uproar alarmed Black Hawk and 
the Indians at the feast; and they in a hasty, tumultuous manner, 
mounted their horses, snatched up their arms and rushed out in 
all the fnry of a mad lioness in defense of their women and chil- 
dren. Black Hawk took a prudent and wise stand, concealed 
behind some woods (then nearly dark), so that the straggling and 
unmanageable forces of Major Stillnian approached near him. It 
M^as a crisis with the Indians. They fought in defense of all they 
held the most sacred on earth. * * * The Indians forced the 
whites back with great speed, and killed in the chase one white 
man. By the time the volunteers had reached Stillman's camp it 
was quite dark, and the troops at the camp hearing the yelling, 
supposed all the whole Black Hawk band were upon them. 
This produced a general panic, and the volunteers fled with their 
comrades whom Black Hawk was chasing." 

This was Stillman's defeat, as told by the veritable governor 
himself. After the volunteers had fled from their camp, Avhile 
crossing a muddy stream close by it, 10 more were killed, says 
the governor, making 11 in all. The fugitives left behind them 
all their camp stores and reached Dixon the next day with such 
exaggerated accounts of the battle as their distempered imagina- 
tions suggested. 

Blackliawk says lie had but 40 men engaged, and the gover- 
nor sets the number not above 60. 

This ill-starred skirmish came near causing the murder of the 
noble hearted Shaubena. When he left Black Hawk's camp, after 
refusing to take part in his proposed council, he went to Dixon. 
Here he was pointed out to the volunteers by a nondescript vag- 
abond named McKabe, as an Indian sjiy in the service of Black 
Hawk, when in truth, though a white volunteer, he himself had 



Indian Creek Massacre. 383 

enlisted more in the service of Black Hawk than for any good 
lie cared to do for the cause in which he was drawing pay, for he 
had ever been associated with the Indians and had married an In- 
dian wife. Tliis apostate of civilization knowing Shanhena to 
1)6 true to the interests of the wdiite men, wisiied to see him killed, 
•but fortnnatelv a humane volunteer seeing the dans-er, flew to the 
house of Mr. Dixon, w'ho in turn flew to the rescue in time to save 
his life. This done he treated him with deserved respect as a 
giiest at his own house, where he introduced him to Govenor 
Keynolds, and General "Whiteside."''' 

Insigniflcant as the l)attle of Sycamore creek M^as, it was a pro- 
digious affair in the estimation of the hostile Indians, nor was it 
a small aflair in the eyes of the borderers, whose fears were aug- 
mented by the alarms spread by the defeated scouts. 

Black Hawk, in order to make the most of his victory, des- 
patched his fleet-footed messengers in every direction, to yelp 
the exultant war-whoop, and carry the war to each exposed fron- 
tier, where the weight of his blows would tall most unexpectedly ; 
but, thanks to Shaubena, he was in a great measure baulked of 
the prey he had counted on as tlie flrst-fruits of his victory. 
This old weather-beaten veteran had no sooner heard of the bat- 
tle than he dispatched his son and nephew to Fox River and 
Holderman's Grove settlements, to warn them of danger, while 
be mounted his pony and galloped towai'ds the settlements on the 
Bureau and Indian Creek. They were planting corn, but at the 
receipt of the alarm left their plows in the furrow, and flew to the 
aiearest fort, which was at Ottawa. 

Unhappily, at, Indian Creek, by a treacherous sense of secur- 
ity, a few families paid no regard to the warning, but to their 
dismay a few hours later, at four o'clock in the afternoon, 70 
painted savages were at their very doors. An indescribable scene 
of butchery of the defenseless victims, and resistance ineflectual 
but desperate, immediately succeeded. Fifteen persons were 
killed and horribly mutilated, two young boys escaped hj flight, 
two young girls, Sjdvia and Rachel Hall, were spared from death 
and abducted as captives. Fortunately, through the influence of 
the AVinnebagoes, they were subsequently ransomed for $2,000. 

Naperville, which has already been spoken of in a preceding 
chapter, was then an itifant settlement, and nearer to Chicago than 
any other. Its history is worth relating, especially as it l)i'ings 
interest to the recprds of early Chicago, and more especially as 
it comes to the writer fresh from the mouth of an eye-witness, 
Mr. Harry T. Wilson, of Wheaton, 111., noW ninety-two years old. 
The following is his story: 

* Matson. 



384 Majpervllle Settlers Warned. 

He started from Ashtabula, Ohio, on the schooner Telegraphy 
in May, 1831, and arrived in Chicago l^he 15th of July following. 
Col. Owen (Indian Agent) and Col. Hamilton were then the 
most influential men in Chicago, but tlie Lawtons, who lived at 
the present site of Lyons on the Desplaines, were much depended 
on for public service, as they could speak the Pottawattomie 
language, and were in great favor with them from tlieir long- 
residence and just dealings among them. Both had Indian wives. 
Isaac Murray, his young son, R. N. Murray (^nowjudgeof the Pro- 
bate Court in" AVheaton), Joseph and John Xaper and L. Butter- 
iield, came in the same vessel with Mr. Wilson, all of whom on 
their arrival at Chicago, were dissatisfied with the uninviting a]i- 
pearance of the place, and after securing a temporary shelter for- 
their families, started into the country on foot to find farming 
lands for a home. Passing Lawtons, they kept on to the Dupage 
river, where Naperville now is, and began their new settlement. 
Their milling was done at Ottawa, and an ox-team to and from 
it (a distance of nearly a hundred miles) .was their only mode of 
transportation. 

With the opening of the succeeding spring their first plowing 
commenced in the new settlement to which many otliers besides 
those just mentioned had come, when, on the 18th of May a 
friendly Pottawattomie came to them with alarming news. Black 
Hawk's band had fought and defeated the volunteers on Rock 
River, and scalping parties in his service were rapidly approach- 
ing the frontier settlements, and were now within ten miles 
•where they had already burned the houses of two advance pio- 
neers, Mr. Hollenbeck and Mr. Cunningham. To give force to 
his statements, the messenger, in awful mimicry, went through 
motions of the scalping process; but this pantomime was quite 
unnecessary, for the new settlers were in hot haste to place the 
friendly walls of Fort Dearborn between themselves and the red 
scouters. The women liastily packed their linen and cooking 
utensils, and the men harnessed the horses. In a short time the 
women and children were on their way over the long flat prairie- 
that intervened between their forsaken homes and Fort Dear- 
born, wduie the men arranged themselves in scouting parties, 
and took positions in the adjacent groves to watch for the terrible 
Sacs. Tliere were yet some distant families who had not been 
warned to leave, and the next day several incidents occurred of 
mistaken identity as to the character of persons seen in the far 
distance, both of wdiom w^ere white men, and both suspecting 
each other of being savages on the war path.* 

*It is related by some of the old settlers now living-, 1880, that during 
the hurly-burly of the hour -when the inhabitants were leaving the place, a Mr.. 



Fort Beggs Built. ''''^•"> 

On the Dupage river, Tiortliwest of Xa])orvil]e, wms a settlement 
at Plainfield, in whicli Kev. S. E. l>ei;gs lived. This early pio- 
neer of the Metliodist faith has publislied liis early experiences 
in a book, from which the followino; is taken, to show the extent 
of the alarm, and the condition of Fort Dearborn when the fugi- 
tives had taken refuge there: 

"The inhabitants came flyiiio; i'roni Fox rivor, throuyh fear of their dreaded 
eiiemy. They came with their cattle and Jiorsc's. some bareheaded and others 
barefooted, crying: 'The Indians ! the Indians!' Those that were able hurried 
on with all speed for Danville. It was umed that all should remain quiet till 
they could get their cattle and hurses together; but there was too much demor- 
alization for that. One team could not be Inund, and it was thought better 
to sacrifice one than that the whole should sutler. So it was decided that they 
should move otf as silently jis jiossible; yet tlieie was one ungovernable person 
among them who made noise enough in ih-iving his oxen to have been heard a 
mile distant. 

" The hatless man. and one or two others, found tjieir way to Danville in ad- 
vance of the rest, and told their fearful stories — how the Indians were killing 
and burning all beiore them, while at this time it is presumed thatthcre was not 
a hostile Indian south of the Desplaines river. At Plaintield, however, the. 
alarm was so great that it was thought best to make all jidssible etlorts inr a 
defense, in case of an attack. ]\ly liou.se was considered tlio most secure i>la.ce. 
1 had two log pens built, one of which served for a. barn and the otiier a shed. 
These were torn down, and the logs used to build up a breastwork arouml the 
house. All the people living on Fox liver who could not get farther away, 
made mj' house a place of sliL-lter. There wei-e one humlrcil and twenty- f.ve. 
old and young. We had four guns, some useless, .\uinnuiition was scarce. 
All our pewter siioons, basins and jilatters were soon mouldeil by the women' 
into bullets. As a next best means of defense, we got a good supply of axes, 
hoes, forks, sharp sticks and clubs. Here we intended to stay till some relief 
could be obtained.' This was on Thursday, and we remained here till the next 
Sabbath, when the people of Chicago hearing of our distress, raised a company 
of 25 white men and as many Indians, who came to our aid. The I ui linns, with 
Mr. Lawlou at their head, were to go to Big Woods (nuw Auroral, and Cenetal 
Brown with Colonel Hamilton and three men, werf» to visit Holderman's grove 
and then hx upon a place to meet in the evening." "^ 

Fresh alarms, both real and false, kept coming in to the tenants 
of Fort Beggs, keeping them in constant agitation and indecision as 
as to what was the best course to pursue, till the news of the In- 
dian Creek massacre reached them, Avhen tiiev determined to fly 
before the impending danger, and on the following Thur.sday at 
seven o'clock in the morning they started for Chicago, the 25 mea 
sent from there under Colonel Hamilton, acting as their escort. 



Payne ventured out on hoi-seback to see some depredations reported a few 
miles distant. On his return he saw across the prairie a man on horseback, 
whom he supposed to be an Indian intending to cut him off. He i>ut spurs to 
his horse to gain the advance, but his supposed foe looked upon him Avith the 
same suspicion. Both were approaching the same spot, and the race was an 
exciting ow to see which should reach it first ; Fayne succeeded, and put his 
horse in his nrighbor's corn crip (Mr. Hobson's). and took to his heels lor Chi- 
cago. Mr. Hobson soon came uji, and seeing the horse of the supposed Indian 
hcout sweatiuH: and foaming from the effects of the race, the mutual misconcep- 
tion was divulged to him, but Mr. Payiir was now beyond .sight and Licaring, 
panting through the grassy prairie towards Chicago. 



o55«{ Fort Payne Built. 

i 

I 

Tliej reached their destination, a distance of forty miles, the saeie 
day, which was a forced march for ox-teams, which were part of 
tl\eir means of transportation. Again resnming my Beggs narra- 
tive, he says: 

'* There w;v? no extra room for us when ^ve arrived in Cliioa^i. Two or three 
families of our nunil>er were put into a room tifttvn feet sqnaiv. with iis miuiy 
more families, and hen^ we stayed cri>wdin>rand j immiuir each other for several 
days. * » * The next morrm^ar our tirst babe was born, and during: '^'vir stay 
iifteeu teudi-r infants were added to our number. One may im;\irine the con- 
fusion of tJio soeni' — thildi^eu were crjinir and women were oompliunini; witiiin 
viooi-s. while without the tramp of soldiery, the rollinor of drums, luid the roar of 
«annon. added to the din."' * 

Some days ere this tlie news of Still man's defeat liad reached 
Chicago, reviving the old war-spirit in the breasts of moody vet- 
erans whose bad blood was again stirred np from dorniant phices 
*n their hearts, and their hopes ag-ain revived, that the reii race 
conld arrest the progress of white settlements in the conntry. 
Billy Caldwell and Alexander Robinson saw this in their rnefnl 
countenances, and proposed to Col. Owen to convene a council for 
the purpose of forestalling any gynt]>athy for Black llaMk which 
his fortuitous success might develop among the young Potto- 
wattomie braves. The propositi was accepteil, and the conncil 
held iinder the shade of a bur oak on the North Side. Kobinson, 
Caldwell, Col. Owen. Col. Hamilton, and others, made speecluv^, 
and a general preference for peace was the result, a feeble mi- 
uoriry -only dissenting, of whom Big Foot, the famous Winne- 
bago Chief, was the leader. He openly defendeii Black Hawk's 
cause, and jjathering to his standani all the intlammabie material 
which loosely lay around the place, he and his disciples vanished 
awav, ultimately to be buried in the ijrave of obscurity alwavs in 
store for a lost cause. 

The alarms at most of the places tVoui which the settlei-s liad 
tied, were false. At Indian Creek only had any considerable 
tbrce oi Indians made their appearance, aiul even here l;ad the 
men all remained at hoiue aiul defended themselves fn>m some 
covert, their ass;iiiants would have retreated nither than risk their 
lives by an attack. 

After all the frontier settlers had taken refnge at Ottawa, Dan- 
ville and Chicago, the able Kxlieil men soon cautiously returned 
to their homes to look to their safety and to tinish planting their 
corn. With this intent the Xaperville settlers returned as soon 
as they had safely lodged their families in Fort Dearborn, and as 
a measure of security built "a loi::: fort, to which thev gave the 
name of Fort Payne, atter one of their settlers. 

The news that an Indian war had broken out on the north- 
western frontier, rapidly spread thronghout every hamlet in the 

*Eaily History of The Norllx West by S. R. Begjrs, P. lO-S. 



General Scott Ordered to Chica<jo. '^^7 

middle and eastern States. A yi»unii- lieneration liad j^rown into 
manhood since the last serious Indian disturbance, but its his- 
tory which hail been told them by their fathers, was a familiar 
tale, and a repetition of it was now considered possible. The 
press of the country teemed with specuhitions, as to what Avas to be 
the result of the war Mhioh was reu'arded as of more importance 
than the facts would warrant if known. Abundant food for 
romance was economized (Uit of the situation, and a volume of 
hasty poetry was published, entitled Black Hawk and Scenes in 
The West, which met with a ready sale. Fnder this j>ressure 
measures were promptly taken by the adminifitratioTi at AVash- 
ington to meet the crisis. Nine companies were detailed for 
this purpose, and placed under the command of General Scott. 
Anions: them was a class of cadets (M'ar students), from West 
Poiiit. who took the occasion to pnt in practice an art which the 
peaceful prosperity of those times threatened with disuse. • On 
the 1st of Jul V thev arrived at Detroit. This was the ffreatMet- 
i-opolitan centre of the Upper Lake country, beyond which was a 
limitless wild relieved only by settlements feeble in nnmbers. and 
inushri'om towns far apart from each other. While General Scott 
was making a brief rest at this place, two men on boai I his 
transports were taken violently sick and died in a few hours, 
despite the best efforts of his ]ihysicians. This was the beginning 
of the asiatic cholera on the Upper Lakes. General Scott hastenea 
his departure and proceeded as tar as Ft. Gratiot, near the outlet 
of Lake Huron, wliere he left 2S0 of his force besides the young 
cadets, whose warlike zeal was now considerably abated by the 

eesence of an enenn- in their midst more formidable than lilack 
awk.* While General Scott is taking his course to Chicago on 
board the steamer Sheldon Thompson, his physicians are eking out 
the fearful hours in their vain attempts to purge the cholera from 
their midst, and the soldiers were dropping, one after another of 
their companies into the sea.+ let us see what was going on at 
the place of his destination. 

Going back but a few days, the place had been the centre of 
an excitement seldom equalled even in the casualties of frontier 
life. The large number of fugitives gathered here, all looked to 
Col. Owen to supply them with such necessities as helpless 
women and children must have or perish; and to add to his re- 



*T}k' fiite of these young men sent a wave of gripf and sorrow tlirovigrhout the 
foutitry. Nearly all of them died of cholera at the fort or perislied like beasts 
of the field alone in some wretched shed or humid forest in their v;un attempts 
to tty before the destroyer, for no one dared lo receive them within their doort 
for fear of this pestilence. Browns Hist, of 111. 

t30 died on the passagpe and were thrown into the lake. 



388 General' Scoit at Chicago. 

sponsibilities, most of the husbands of these fugitive women Wfre- 
aweHy scouting the eonntry witli commendable courage for the 
protection of their homes. Every available space in the fort wa& 
tilled, and hastily constructed camps and temporary sleeping 
bojoths were constructed ontside of it, within the reach ot its 
guns.* 

While these fugitives were amusing themselves as best they 
could to kill the long days of July, :the sound of a cannon broke 
the silence of the morning. All eyes turned towards the lakel- 
and there was an approaching sail, Sncceeding puffs of smoke;, 
with a corresponding number of reports gifter brief intervals of 
time, threw the town into transports, and almost everybody flew 
to the beach. The vessel approached the month of the river, 
cast her anchor and lowered her boats. Into these the soldiers 
leaped, and soon came rowing up tlie Chicago river, amidst the 
huzzas of the assembled spectators. This was a small command 
under Major William Whistler, the son of the same who had 
built the first Ft. Dearborn in lS03-4.f He came as an advance 
of General Scott to make preparations for his arrival. Those 
who were sheltered in the fort were required to leave it, which 
they did at once, and most of them returned to their homes, the 
.alarm having now partiall}'' subsided. 

'. A week after the arrival of Captain Whistler — on the 8th of, 
.'July, at the small hours of the morning (2 o'clock), — the inhabi- 
tants of Chicago were awakened by an outcry in the streets; Gen. 
Scott's army had arrived and were in the fort, and his soldiers 
dying with cholera. Tliis king of terrors had made whole con- 
gregations turn pale with fear in the east, and the settlers of 
Chicago were not proof aga,inst its alarms. When -the broad 
light of morning came, says an eye witness, hardly a resident was 
to be seen, for nearly all had fled. Among the dwellers at the 

* A raft of lumber belongingr to Noble Bros, (merchants) was used for this 
purpose. 

t On board the vessel with Major Whistler, were his wife, two dausriiters and 
a son. Tliis wife has for several years past been known to the people of Chica- 
go as Airs. Ool. Whistler, the oldest living- witness of thi.' ImiMing of the first 
Fort Dearborn, in 180:^-4. She was married tn t'aptain Wiustler at Detroit, in 
= 18(l'2, beinof then only fourteen years and a few months old. and a few months 
atterwards came with her husband and his father to (Jhicayo to build the fort, 
as stated in fcrefi:oing paj^es. During the siege of Detroit, in 181J, her husband 
being an officer under General Hull, she with him was taken prisoner at thi> 
surrender. Since her husband's death, her home has been part of the time in 
Chicago, and part of the time in Newport, Ky., at which latter place she died, 
Feb. 12, 1878, at the age of ninety-two years. Gwinthlean, afterwards the 
wife .and now the widow of Rober> A. Kinzie, was one of her daughters on 
board the vessel, as above described, and to her is the writer indebted for the 
above item. 



The Cholera:-'' ^SO 

■forks of the river wlio remained were Indian Robinson, .fTojI\n 
■Miller and P>enjaniin Hall. Dr. DeCani]), the army ])liysician, 
'promptly called on these remaining ones and allayed their tears, 
■counsel in £2: them not to leave, assuring them that the" disease 
'would be confined to the garrison. The ileeers soon returned ana 
'but one of them was attacked, but to the devoted garrison: tjiere 
was no escape from the appalling situation. To leave tlie fort 
was to expose themselves to the censure of whomsoever thfey 
might meet, even if it were po^s-ible to do such a thing in defi- 
ance of the sentinel; while to remain inside and witness the 
•'Carnival of death which was go'ing on there, required more Co;txi- 
posure thai;i could be expected of the average soldier. 
*\ Black Hawk was now stealthily traversing the country^ his^'war 
parties threatening portions of the frontier. But Gen. Scott was 
in no condition to take the oifensive, for if was all the well oiies 
■'COuld do to lake care of the sick and bnry the dead. Ere. tljije 
contagion had spent its force ninety of his men had fallen victjins 
"and been buried without tlie usual military honors of a soldier 
'<\x even the civil usuages of a coffin. AVhen the last spark of. life 
Svas supposed to be gone out the corpse was hastened to the 
■grave which was ever ready to receive him, and two men with 
'spades ready to interpose a few feet of earth between the decaying 
mass of contagion and the living world above ground.* On one 
kii these occasions a premature subject was brought enveloped i:^ 
his burial blanket ; but just before he was lowered the uncon- 
seious soldier called for water. He was returned to the hospital, 
■and in a few days recovered his usual health.f . ^ ., 

Not even the terrors of Black Hawk's war-parties woiild Have 
driven the surrounding settlers to Chicago while the cholera 
■w^as there, and had this pestilence come 18 days sooner, whenthip 
■massacre of Indian creek occurred, the imhappy settlers of ISTap- 
"erville and Fox river would probably have made a desperate 
determination to defend their homes against the Indians rathe;' 
than encounter the dangersof the new atid subtle enemy of nian^ 
Ti:ind, that had even threatened annihilation to the soldiers wlio 
had come to defend them. . / , -' 

Leaving Gen. Scott in his fatalduress at Fort Dearborn, le(;',iis 
•turn to the Indian war parties, wlio Were how skimining'ovcr the 
prairies in voiceless silence, ready to make sudden dashes upon 
places supposed to be defenceless, Black Hawk hiinself, all -the 

-— — • ■ ~— : rf 

. *The burying'- ground was at the foot of Madison street, on the lake shore. 
About 1840, and hitor, the erosion of the lake washed away portions of it, ex-* 
j^>osing- to view the b aies of the victims to tlie cholera. V'; 

-•torown's History of Illinois, p. ■o75. , .j. .,j 



300 BJaclc Hawk L\ treats. 

•while at the head of his army, small in miinbers, deficient in sup- 
plies and inadequate to meet his adversaries in the open field 
with the taintest hope of success. But however apparent these 
conditions were to him. his ability to impi*ess them upon the un- 
controllable spirits of his followers was wanting. Baulked in his 
attempt to ally the Winnebago and Pottawattomie nations to dis 
standard, he found himself the leader of a'horde of sanguinary hot- 
spurs, full of courage and destitute of discretion. It was com- 
posed of the worst elements of his own tribe and a lawless renegade 
esciipement from the tribes whose support in an evil hour heha<i 
eour.ted on, by virtue of the treacherous advice of Xeopope 
Wabokieshiek and the prophet. 

Most of the fugitives from the disgraceful field of Stillman's- 
run reached Gen. "Whiteside's headquarters in a few hours, with 
their zeal for Indian fighting spent in a oO-mile race over the 
prairies, by which the horses that carried them wore not less ex- 
hausted than the courage of their riders. 

General "Whiteside was now in an awkwai\i position. His- 
whole army had been without rations for two days, and confined 
to a diet of parchetl corn. In this emergency, Mr. Dixon with 
patriotic generosity, ottered his stock of cattle for their subsistence 
till stores could be brought. The cattle were butchered and the- 
hungry volunteers ate the meat without bread or potatoes, al- 
though it was lean and tough.* The next day after the skirmislv 
General AVhiteside led his entire force to its scene. It was a sol- 
itude. There were the tent-marks of Black Hawk's- army and. 
the lifeless bodies of 11 slain volunteers divested o^f tlieir scalps,, 
which were doubtless dangling from the belts of as many Sac- 
warriors. Black Hawk had gone nortlu it was supposed, to the 
region of the Four lake country, in "Wisconsin.f General "White- 
side's army now amounted to '2i00 men, and had he followed 
Black Hawk promptly the war might have been ended in two or 
three weeks; for the Indians, encumbereil as they were with their 
squaws and children, must have been eas^i.ly overtaken, and could 
neither have defended themselves against such odds or esca}>ed. 
by flight. But the volunteers were- by this^ time surfeited witli. 
CAmp life, especially with Indian fighting; the time for which 
they had enlisted had nearly expired, and they presented but lu 

* Fonl. 

t The Four lake country was composed of the two beautiful lakes tiiat now 
almost environ the jiictui-esque city of Madison aiid two others below it, all 
joined by the watei-s; of Cattish creek, having- its outlet in Kock river a few 
miles l>elow Kosh-ko-uong lake. So little was then known of this delightful 
reg-ion that even its locality was not undei-stood by any of the volunteei-s. and, 
Winnebago pilots wei-e employed to diivit the coui-se of the army when it took. 
up its march for the place. 



The Volunteers Discharged. 391 

sorrv dependence on wliioli to rely for conquering a foe, tliough 
small, jaded to desperation. Under these surround inos, General 
Wliiteside was obliired to yield the honors of a victory at hand 
to the capricious discontent of the volunteers, and they were 
marched back to Ottawa, where they were discharged by Gover- 
nor Reynolds on the 27th and 2Stii of May.* 

After the volunteers left Dixon, General Atkinson entrenched 
his e^inip and remained there with the reinforcements he had 
brought from Ft. Armstrong. The necessity of immediately 
raising new recruits to push the war was pressing, for without 
them the AYinnebaixoes, and even the Pott-awatomies miijht have 
looked upon Black Hawk as the winner, and joined his standard. 
Accordingly Gov. Reynolds gave orders for raising 2,000 men to 
take the place of the diseharged soldiers. A few of the latter, 
however, with commendable patriotism re-enlisted for a few days 
in order to defend the frontier till the new recruits could be 
brought into service. Col. Jacob Fry commanded them. Jai'nes D. 
Henry M-as his lieutenant, and John Thomas, major. Gen.AVhite- 
side, with a zeal both laudable and modest, enlisted in the private 
ranks. The chat^' of the late volunteer arniv returned to their 
lionies, and the true soldierly material just organized out of it 
promptly distributed themselves in small parties to the most ex- 
posed frontiers. 

To tight Indians in regular pitched battles is not attended 
with much danger to the white coinbatants, but to meet them 
noiselessly, crawling on the ground like serpents to attack some 
unsuspecting settlement, puts to test the mettle of a soldier. An 
attack of this kind was planned against the new settlements east 
of Galena, to guard against which Capt. Adam W. Snyder had 
been detached with a small company. AVhile thus engaged on 
the I7th of June, as the tedious hours of night were wearing 
away, some hostile shots were tired into their camp from an in- 
visible foe. The next morning they followed the intruders to a 
sink-hole hard by, into which treacherous covert the Indians had 
t^ken refuge. A charge was made upon them, as if a small army 
lav concealed there, which resulted in the killing of the whole, 
only four in number. One of Snyder's men was mortally wounded. 
Resting under a supposition that they had killed all tlie Indians 
in the vicinity, they took up their wounded man and started for 
their camp, soon heedlessly scjittering in dilferent directions in 
quest of water, when they were suddenly attacked by about TO 
Indians who had watched their motions from the tirst. The men 
thought 07ily to save themselves by flight, but fortuiu\tely Gen. 

• Ford's Hist, of 111., p. 124. 



39:2 Mev. Adam Payne. 

"Whiteside was among them, and upon him the captain called for 
assistance to rally the men. This veteran declarino; lie would 
shoot the first man who started to run, resolution took the place 
of fear, and the men stood their ground. This done, the battle 
hegan in earliest, but was soon terminated bj a shot from Gen. 
"Whiteside which killed the leader of the Indians, and tliev all 
lied without further resistance, carrying away their dead. Two 
white men were killed, and one wounded.* 

Two days before this affair the new leyies had arrived at the 
mouth of the Yermiliou. river, from whence they were marched 
to Ft. Wilburn, where they were mustered into service and di- 
vided into three brigades, commanded respectively by Gen. 
Alexander Posey, Gen Milton K. Alexander, and Gen. James D. 
Henry. Besides these, a comjjany of rangers under command 
of Maj. Bogart, Avere to guard the frontier of Southern Illinois, 
while the three divisions were to march in pursuit of Black 
Hawk, the architect of all this commotion, which had now drawn 
over 3000 men from the plow to the soldiers' ranks, besides the 
first volunteers who had just been discharged. 

While these formidable 2)reparations had been on foot, the 
m:urderous disposition of bad Indians had been ventilated on 
numerous unhappy victims who by chance had been exposed to 
their merciless as well as indiscriminate fury. 

On a bright morning a little past the middle of May, the peo- 
ple of Chicago Mere attracted to the fort by the voice of singing. 
Just outside its walls stood the tall and manl}'^ form of Rev. Adam 
Pjivne, whose musical and sonorous voice had reached the utter- 
most limits of the town, and drawn thither an audience. A ser- 
mon followed from this eloquent enthusiast, which for fervor and 
religious effect, might have satisfied the ambition of aKnapp ot" 
a- Moody. Soldiers, tradei'S, and even the elastic half-breeds^ 
■showed signs of contrition which must have been gratitying to 
the itinerant apostle of the Duukard faith, as his voice mellowed 
into pathos under the s^'nipathetic inspiration of the occasion* 
Mr. Fayne was on his way from Ohio to visit his brother, Aaron 
Pavne, who lived in Putnam conntv, 111., and immediatelv atter 
his discourse, to which the people of Chicago had paid such rer 
spectful attention, mounted his horse, and starting on his journey, 
soon vanished out of sight over the pi-airies. The first night 
he reached the house of liev. S. R. Beggs, on the present site of 
Plaintield. Here he found his brother-]>reacher with his house 
barricaded like a fort, so great was the fear of hostile 
Indians, as already stated. But all this did not disheartea 
the Pilgrim Preacher. He had often traveled the route 

* Boss. Hist, of Ogle County. 



• Death of St. Vraith. . \ 393 

"iKifore, and having preached to the Indians with good ef- 
fect, he relied on his early friendships with them for safety. 
Under this ill-founded sense of security, he started the 
next morning in a |^south-west direction across the wilds, 
towards Ottawa, much against the' admonitions of his friends, 
who assured him that the country was full of hostile Indians. 
He was mounted on a fleet horse, and by means of a spy -glass 
^vhicli he carried in his pocket, he felt sure he could detect the 
chaiacter of anv Indians he might see, at a suflicient distance to 
i:eo|» out of the wa}', if hostile. This is the last ever seen of him 
iby his friends while living. Two or three days subsequently, as 
Colonel Moore's regiment were on their way from Joliet to Fort 
AVilbiirn, his advance guard, under charge of Colonel Hubbard, 
saw a pair of saddle-bags lying on the prairie about three miles 
from Ilolderman's Grove. A Iresh trail in the tall grass leading 
from the saddle-bags, was immediately followed about an eighth 
x)f a mile, where the dead body of the preacher was found. ' The 
liead was not severed from the body, says Mr. Hubbard, but the 
>calp was taken, including his long beard. In the saddle-bags 
lii-s hymn book was left by the murderous wretches who killed 
the lamented preacher, for this was the last thing which could be 
of any service to them. 

Around the dead body of the preacher the grass was leveled, 
giving proof that he defended himself in a fierce encounter with 
his .murderei's. Mr. Hubbard caused his remains to be imme- 
diately buried, and his party passed on.* 

After the volunteers had left Dixon, Gen. Atkinson continued 
to hold the place, but dared not take the offensive against Black 
Hawk, especially as he had no means of knowing the amount of 
his force. Under these circumstances, he wished to send a com- 
munication to Galena. The mission was a dangerous one, but* 
St. Vrain, a former Indian agent of the Sacs, had the hardihood- 
to undertake it. He started, with a few companions, on the 32nd 
of Mav. Onlv six davs after the volunteers had left, but ere he 
readied his destination, he met a party of Sacs, led by Little 
Bear, whom, having been a former friend, he approached in the 
attitude of ])eace. But Little Bear was on the war-path, and' 
massacred the whole party, except two who had escaped, with as- 
little hesitation as he would kill an enemy on the battle-field, 
alleging as a cause that St. Yrain had assisted Gen. Gaines in 
driving the Sacs across the Mississippi. 

Soon afterwards, a Mr. Smith was killed near the Blue Mounds^ 
jiud Mr. AYintei-s, a mail contractor, six miles from Dixon; 

*This account has been taken from Mr. Hubbard himself. Others who have 
stilted the affair differently, lack authenticity. 



394: Stephenson'' s Fatal Skirmish. 

Another man was killed not far from the spot where the lamented 
Mr. Payne was shot, and later, on the 14th of June, five men 
were killed while at work in a corn-field on Spafford's Creek, a 
branch of the Pecatonica. 

All this time Black Hawk himself had not struck a hostile 
blow since the battle at Sycamore Creek, but by means of his 
fleet-footed messengers, as well as his Pottawatomie aiid Winne- 
bago spies, he was well aware of the preparations which were- 
being made to act against him. 

The lead interests of Galena had drawn around the place a 
thriving settlement of Americans to work the mines which had 
for a century before been worked by the French or Indians, some- 
times by the enforced labor of negro slaves. 

In 1827, the county of Jo Daviess had been organized, includ- 
ing within its area several of the present adjacent counties, at 
that time a trackless wild, except for a few miles around the vi- 
cinity of Galena. A devious path, almost concealed with prairie 
grass, led from this place to Yandalia, the State capital, from 
whence the mail was carried once a fortnight, and another to 
Dixon. The remoteness of this settlement from the populous 
portion of Illinois, made it a shining mark for Black Hawk, and 
here he determined to strike his first blow before the new recruits 
came into the field. With this intent, he sent a small band of 
his marauding scouts thither, to make observations and steal 
horses. On the night of the 18th of June, they succeeded in ac- 
complishing this design by entering the stables attached to Apple 
River Fort, and taking awa^- the horses without detection. This^ 
was a small stockade on the east bank of Apple river, 12 miles 
from Galena, situated on Sec. 24, in Elizabeth township. The 
next morning, by chance, Capt. T. W. Stephenson arrived from 
Galena with a small command of 12 men, and determined to pur- 
sue the pilferers. The party was well mounted, and lollowing 
their tratCk without difficulty over the grass-clad plains, overtook 
them near Waddam's Grove, in the present county of Stephenson,, 
named in honor of the leader of this expedition. The Indians^ 
took to the grove, and secreting themselves, waited the approach, 
of their pursuers, like so many tigers crouching for their prey,. 
and Stephenson's men, with more courage than prudence, dis- 
mounted, left their horses in charge of ten of their number and 
followed them with the intention of drivin<»; them out of their- 
covert and recovering the horses. Three ot Stephenson's men 
were killed in the desperate bush-fight, and himself and several 
others wounded, when they retreated, and the victorious Indians 
bore away their booty unharmed.* The dead were left on the 

* Tohnston's Hist, of Stepliensoa (.ounty. 



Attack on Apple River Fort, 395- 

ground, but tlie next day the party returned and buried them. 

Encouraged by this" success, Black Hawk selected 150 of his 
choicest braves and marched against the fort from wliich tlie 
horses liad been taken. It was a small stockade of logs driven 
into the ground, having a tower at each corner for sliarp-shooters, 
and garrisoned with 25 men under command of Captain Stone, 
Clustered around it was a village of miners, who, in the event 
of aTi Indian attack, relied on it as a place of refuge. As 
Black Hawk's band neared the place, so stealthy was his move- 
ments that they managed to conceal themselves in a thicket only 
half a mile distant without being discovered. From this ambush, 
he intended to dash upon the place just after twilight, before the 
gates of the fort were closed for the night, and had it not been 
for the indiscretion of one of his own men, the village and fort 
both would probably have been taken and all the inhabitants 
butchered, according t(> the merciless custom of Indian warfare. 
On the morning of the same day, six brave scouts had volunteer- 
ed to take a message from Galena to Dixon.* Arriving 
at Apple River Fort, they stopped to take diniier, from whence 
tliey were to take their dangerous course over the ])rairies. A 
few minutes' travel after they left the fort brought them within, 
range of one of the concealed Indians, who lired on them, wound- 
ing Walshe. His companions kept the Indians at a distance by 
pointing their guns at the foremost ones till the wounded man 
was rescued, and all had made a glorious retreat to Apple River 
Fort.f Thus balked in his plan of secrecy. Black Hawk imme- 
diately dashed upon the town. The villagers rushed into the 
fort, leaving their houses at the mercy of the foe. The women 
went to melting lead and moulding bullets, and the men 
and boys seized each a musket to defend the fort. The assault 
was kept up ten hours or more. In vain the Indians fired a tem- 
pest of bullets against the palisades, aiming at the loop-holes, and! 
with ferocious yells threatened to assault the place by scaling its- 
walls. A number of them had fallen before the steady aim of 
the defenders, and the besiegers at last retreated, after a wanton/ 
destruction of everything of value in the village. Only one mau 
was killed in the fort. 

While Black Hawk's band were wasting their fury against the- 
fort, Dixon, one of the intrepid scouts who had been fired upon 
as he, with his companions, had started for Dixon, was on his way 
to Galena to give the alarm and obtain assistance.;}: Col. Strode,, 

*Fred Dixon. Wm. Kilpatrick, Walshe, Wackelrode and two 

others. 

tBoss' History of Ogle Co. 

i Fred. Dixon had been a distinj^uished Indian fighter in Missouri. He was. 
not the proprietor of Dixon's Ferry. 



^96 Bat-tie of Kellogg' s Crtnyve. ' 

who held command of the place, promptly- responded to the onll 
bj sending a detachment with all haste, but thev did not arrive 
till Black Hawk liad retreated. jMartial law Nvas now .declared in 
■Galena, as a measure of defense against Black Hawk's scouts. 
■ Tlie late daring act, though unsuccessful, had sufficiently dem- 
onstrated the courage of the Indians, and their numerous war 
parties infesting the lonesome paths of the prairies gave alarming 
evidence that their numbers had been augmented largely from 
tribes who were friendly as nations,' but whose renegade element 
were in the ranks of Black Hawk. 

Gen. Brady, to whom the command of the new recruits had 
"been given, being now taken violently sick. Gen. Atkinson • was 
.-appointed to take his place. While these M'ere on their way to 
Dixon, Major Dement was ordei^d to advance to Galena with' 
a spy battalion numbering one hundred and fifty men.' • Ar:- 
•riving within thirty -five miles of his destination at Iveh 
logg's Grove, while reposing at the log-cabin of Mr. Kellogg, for 
whom the grove was named, on the 2.5th of June, he was ap-i 
prised of the presence of large bodies of Indians. Three or fomr 
■days before, Black Hawk had been repulsed from Apple Rivef 
Fort — less than a day's march Irom this place — and it was but a 
reasonable supposition that his baud were ambushed near-by— 
pierhaps within hearing of his noisy soldiers in the merriment of 
>camp-life. Orders wer^' given to saddle the horses, while he, at 
the head of twenty men, led areconnoitering party. It was none 
too soon, for within three hundred yards of his camp seven In- 
dians were discovered, crawling on the ground, silent as Victor 
Hugo's thugs. His undisciplined men immediately gave chase, 
^hile he vainly endeavored to call them back for fear of an am'- 
buscade. T^'hen the pursuit had continued about a mile, a large 
;body of Indians, reported at three hundred, but probably- cot^ 
-sisting only of the attackers of Apple Eiver Fort, sprang from 
theii- hiding-places like so many goblins. Ferocious yells broke 
the silence of the morning, tilling the solitudes around them vrifeh 
vengeful warnings. Dement retreated inside the log buildings 
composing Mr. Kellogg's pioneet* plantation, sending back occai- 
sional shots on the way. Here he held his foes at a great disad- 
vantage to them; but unwilling to give up the prize, they wasted 
considerable powder aind lead against the inflexible walls of hife 
retreat till several of their own number fell before the steady aim 
of the besieired.* '• 



*Among the Indians shot was a darinsr youny chief who ventured very near 
to secure a good aim at the loop-hole. Rev. Zadock (Avsev Wixs the one who 
brought him down ; the same who afterwards became Lieut.-Goveruor of the 

.State. On the person of the chief was found a lock of hair which was after- 
wards identified as the s^me cut fr6m the head of Rachel Hall, who was carried 

into capti\'ity from the Indian Creek uiassacfe.— Jfefdfso)*'.* Shaubena, p: ITt. 



Brittle of Pecatonua. :3t)T 

Tlie Indians witlulrcw after an hour's inefTectual attempt to 
dislodge Dement. Five whites were killed and a larger nuniher 
wounded, which was tlie result of the ambuscade which the un- 
disciplined soldiers had fallen into, from which perilous position 
their retreat into the losr-cabins saved them from a total defeat 
with ixreat slaughter. 

Bet'ore the battle, an express had been sent to Gen. Posey for 
assistance, and two hours after the retreat t^f the Indians he ar- 
rived with his whole force. The next day he made a reconnois- 
sance to the north, in search of the retreating Indians, but not 
finding them, he took up his quarters at Ft. Hamilton, on th& 
Pecatonica river. 

The news of the battle soon reaclie 1 Dixon, where Ge-.i. At-, 
kinson, supposing that Black Hawk might attempt a retreat 
across the Mississippi, sent Gen. Alexander to scour its banks 
below Galena, and intercept him; but pending this fruitless 
search. Black Hawk was retreating, unpursued, to his camp' at the- 
head of Rock river, where his warriors, with their wives and 
children, were now wliettini? their revenge under the accumulated 
griefs of exile, hunger and war. 

A few days before Dement's battle Colonel Dodge, who com- 
manded the "Wisconsin volunteers, went to Fort Hamilton, which 
was the nearest fort to the spot where the live nnMi had been 
killed in a corn-field, as told in a preceding page. From this 
place, at the head of 21 daring "Wisconsin volunteers, he sallied 
forth in quest of the hostile Sacs who had committed the out- 
rage. He overtook them on the east fork of the Pecatonica,. 
lodged in a grove. The attack was immediately nuide, and re- 
sulted in killing the entire band of Indians, 17 in number. Col- 
onel Dodge's loss was three killed. This little skirmish tested 
not only the courage, but the muscle, of the dashing volunteers,, 
for the conflict was mostly hand-to-hand fighting.* 

After Dements fight, General Atkinson, learning by Wapan- 
sie, a friendly Pottawatomie, that Black FTawk had returned to. 
his camp, he made preparation to follow him. Colonel Fry was 
ordered to march in advance, for the especial purpose of ineeting 
and welcoming a compauy of friendly Pottawatomies, recruited 
at Chicago, and led by Billy Caldwell and Shaubena and Geo. £. 
Walker,\vhile he and General Ilonry, with their respective brig- 
ades, followed, taking their course up the east side of Rock river, 
with the intention oi^attacking Black Hawk in his camp. At thft. 
same time General Alexander was ordered to advance up the west 
side of the river, a few miles west of its bank, while Colonel 
Dodge and General Posey were to march from the waters of th& 

'Smith's Doc. Hist. Wis., Vol. I. p. 275. 



398 Battle of WlsGonsin Heights. 

Pecatoiiica, striking Siii»;ar creek, which flows southwardly 
through Green county, Wis., thence to the most soutliern of the 
Four Lakes. While tin's sweeping invasion was making its way 
northwardly, Black Hawk was fleeing before it as fast as liis 
scanty means of transportation would allow, but ere he was able 
to cross the Wisconsin river he was overtaken by General Hen- 
ry's division, who gave him battle on its southern bank, at a place 
■called AViseonsin Heights, about fifty miles below Ft. Winnebago, 
which resulted in a loss of 50 to him while in his retreat across the 
river. General Henry's loss was 1 killed and 8 wounded. 

White Crow a friendly Winnebago chief, was in General 
Henry's ranks during the battle, but unfortunately for Black 
Hawk, the Crow left the camp of the volunteers and started for 
Fort Winnebago as soon as darkness had put an end to the 
fight, for during the night General Henry's sentinels heard Indian 
voices calling to them, but no one could interpret their words, 
and no notice was taken of thera. These were otters to surrender* 
nnd had the White Crow been present to interpret them the aw- 
ful fate that followed to Black Hawk's band might have been 
averted. 

During the night Black Hawk succeeded in getting his wretched 
fugitives across the Wisconsin, whence they fled towards the 
Mississippi, indulging in the despairing hope that they could 
reach its banks and find an asylum in the mysterious wilds be- 
yond, should they be able to cross before their pursuers overtook 
them. General Atkinson, who was in hot pursuit of the Sacs, 
Boon arrived at Helena, on the Wisconsin river, where the Wis- 
consin volunteers, under Colonel Dodge, effected a junction with 
him. Crossing ovei- to the JSTorth side, they soon struck the trail 
of Black Hawk. It was during the last days of July, and the 
lieat of midsummer soon decomposed the bodies of the dying, 
fugitives, and the stench left in their wake was sometimes almost 
insupportable. Some of these dead were those who had been 
wounded in the late battle, and others were women or children 
who had surrendered at last to starvation and exhaustion. 

On the 2nd of August, the advance, under Colonels Dooge and 
Zachary Taylor, overtook and attacked them, the main army, 
under General Atkinson meantime pressing on, supposing that 
the main body of the Sacs was in front of them. 

In this conviction the}'" were outwitted by the wily Black Hawk, 
who, intending to escape with his main body while amusing his 
pursuers with a feint, had sent them to the banks of the Missis- 
sippi, at the mouth of the Bad Axe. General Henry, who was in 
the rear, learned this through Major Ewing, and dashing at them 

♦Smith's Wis. Vol. 1, P. 280. 



Battle of Bad Axe. 399 

witli his wliole force, the battle of Bad Axe was fong-lit, General 
Atkinson reaching the scene only in time to see tlie i;-roiind cov- 
ered with slain Indians, and the flying remnant vainly trying to 
cross the river by swimming. The loss of the volunteers was 17 
i<illed, and more wounded.* 

Immediate! v after Henry's battle at Wisconsin Heights, he had 
'dispatched a messenger to Prairie du Chien to give the news. 
He arrived there on the 23d of Jul^ and Colonel Loomis, who 
then held command of Ft. Crawford, tnspatched the steamer enter- 
prise up the Mississippi to intercept Black Hawk, should he 
attempt to cross. Arriving at the mouth of Black river, they 
found 40 Winnehagoea with 28 canoes. They were friendly In- 
dians, but doubtless under a compassionate sympathy for their 
unhappy kindred in their despei-ate extremity, had assembled 
there to assist them across the river. Under this impression they 
■were seized and sent to Fort Crawford. The Enterprise was now 
abandoned because she was a slow boat, and tlie Steamer War- 
rior, armed with a six-pounder Avas sent up the riv^er in her stead. 
There are two islands on the Mississippi at tlie mouth of the Bad 
Axe, and on one of these the most of the defeated Sacs with their 
women had found a breathing place after the battle. Many of 
them swam thitlier for they had but one canoe, which was used 
to transport the feeble squaws and children. To this isolated 
retreat, Colonel Taylor at the head of 150 regulars followed them, 
and charged upon the pent up fugitives, while Captain Tliroek- 
morton opened fire on them from the Warrior. They nuide a des- 
perate defense, but all fell except one who escaped by swim- 
mi ng.f 

Among those who had not taken refuge on the island, was 
Black Hawk himself and less than a hundred of his band. Black 
Hawk fled to Prairie LaCross, a Winnebago village, where he sur- 
rendered himself to Cha-e-tar, and One Eyed Decorra. Under 
their custody the conquered chief with the prophet were taken to 
Prairie du Clden, and delivered to General Street the agent of the 
Winnebagoes at that place on the 27th of August.;]: 

*Tl]ere seems to have been no small amount of rivalship. from tbe first, among 
the various divisions of the volunteers, as to which should have the first chance 
At the Sacs. It was by disobedience to the orders of the commanding- General 
(Atkinson), that General Henry had by a hasty march overtaken and foui^ht 
Black Hawk on the Hei.i,^hts of the Wisconsin, for which offense General Atkin- 
son had placed him in the rear in the continued pursuit, but Black Hawk's suc- 
cessful feint, at Bad Axe had by chance ap:ain given General Henry the firat 
■chance at his desperate and starving warriors. 

See SraJth's Wis., Vol. I, p. 415. ReynoMs' My Own Tnnes, p. 415. 

tCaptain Estcs, Account, See boc. Hist. Wis. Vol. Ill, P. 230. 

^On delivering the captives One Eye said: We have done as you told us. 
We always do as you tell us, because we know it is for our good. * * We 



400 Last Fatal Retreat. 

Of the miserable remnant, alioiit 50 were taken prisoners, and it 
is probable that a tew fled to the W iiuiebagues and found a shelter, 
but it is known that some succeeded in crossiiiii; the Mississippi, 
even in the face of their numerous enemies. 1 bey had no sooner 
landed on this savage shore tlian the Sioux, their ancient enemies, 
fell upon the unhappy outcasts, and sent them across another 
river to the Happy Tluntirig Groundsr The thorny i>atli they 
had traveled since they had returned to Illinois was now ended. 
If this world's griefs can offset transgressions, the balance could 
not be greatly against them to be entered to account on the other 
side. 

Let us now return to General Scott, whom we left at Fort 
Dearborn. ISTo news was obtainable from the seat of the war, 
and before he would take any offensive steps, it was necessary t»> 
communicate with General Atkinson. From the alarming news- 
that had thus far r.eached Chicago it was then supposed that Black 
Hawk's war i)arties were way-laying every path through the prai- 
ries that intervened between Fox river and the Galena settlements,. 
but yet in the face of these fancied dangers, an intrepid frontierer 
was found who volunteered to carry a message from General 
Scott to the cauip of General Atkinson, which was supposed to be 
on Rock River. This was John K. Clark (who it may not be 
forgotten, was the son of Margaret the captive). He started on 
the mission with two daring half breeds, stealthily making their 
way over treeless plains, and creeping through silent groves to 
Rock River, thence following up the trail of his army reached his 
camp and delivered the message. All haste was now made to 
return to Chicago, which they safely effected after a week's absence 
from the place and delivered General Atkinson's reply to General 
Scott. The two inconsiderate half breeds tarnished their laurels 
thus gained by a carousal in a villainous whisky den, which then 
stood about where the well known house of Fuller & Fuller is now 



want you to keep them safe. If they are to be hurt, we do not want to see it. 
Wait until we are gone Ijefore you do it. 

Black Hawk spoke as follows: * * My warriors fell around me; it be^an 
to look dismal. I saw my evil day at hand. The sun rose clear on ua that 
raoi-ning, and at night it .<ank in a dark cloud, and looked like a ball of fire. 
This was the last sun that shone on Black Hawk. He is now a prisoner to tha 
white man, but he can stand the torture. He is not afrnid of death. He is no 
coward. Black Hawk is an Indian. He has done nothing an Indian need, be 
ashamed of. He has Ibught the battles of his country against the white men 
who came year after year to cheat them, and take away their lands. * * * 
Black Hawk is satisfied. He will go to the world of spirits contented. His, 
f vther will m<^et and reward him. The white men do not scalp the head, but' 
they do worse ; they poison the heart. * * * Fai'ewell to my nation ! Fare- 
well to Black Hawk. 

*Doc. Hist. Wis. Vol. Ill, P. 284. 



General ScoWs Advance. 401 

located. TTerc they spent tlie night in dissipation, and the next 
morning Benjamin Hall (my infoKmunt), saw them come from 
the place, lay down on the gronnd, and die with Cholera at fit- 
teen minutes' notice. 

About the 20th of July, General Scott now resolved to c-o to the 
Desplains river and encamp, thinking the change might be bene- 
ficial to the health of his men. He arrived there about the 20th 
with his whole command and encamped at the present site of 
Riverside. His baggage train consisted of abont fifty wagons 
which, with the horses to draw them, had been purchased at Milan, 
Ohio, and sent by teamsters to Fort Dearborn, where they arriv- 
ed a few days after the general had come to the j)lace. 

Robert N. Murray, whose father had recently settled in Naper- 
ville (as already stated), was a lad of seventeen years, and en- 
listed in the service of General Scott as teamster, to drive one 
of the teams across the country. General Scott, with 12 men 
and two baggage- wagons, had started in advance, leaving Colo ' 
nel Cumminijs in command of the main bpdy, which was to fol-' 
low as soon as the health of tlie soldiers would permit. In tCd' 
days the train started, carrying in the Avagons the few sick sol-' 
diers who had not yet sufficiently recovered from cholera attacks 
to stand the fatigue of marching. Their route lay through Gil- 
bert's Grove, on the DnPage, across the Fox river three miles 
below Elgin; thence through the Pigeon wcxjds to the present 
Bite of Belvedere; thence to an old Indian village at the present 
site of Beloit. Here the train rested a week, during which time 
a messenger came to the comniandiiig officer, informing him of 
the battle of Bad Axe, with orders to proceed to Rock Island. 

In obedience to these instructions, the train again started over 
the prairies in a more southerly direction, passing the present 
site of Rockford, which was then a wild of great beauty, where 
they encamped for the night. Young Murray had by this time 
attracted the eye of Colonel Cummings who promoted him to 
the position of driving his own carriage, and gave the charge of 
the team from which he had been taken, to his first driver. Here 
he soon l)ecame initiated into the ways of some " great men," by 
being offered his choice of brandy or wine as often as the Colo- 
nel became thirsty, which was five or six times a day. Young 
Murray, to his surprise, declined the brandy, but retained the 
good opinion of his master, nevertheless. A few days' travel 
down Rock river now brought them to their destination. The 
troops were left at Fort Armstrong, and the teams sent back to 
Chicago, where they were sold.* 

*While the writer is rniikinff tip this chapter, Mr. Murray is on the bench 
holding' his court but few rods distant in the village of Wheaton. 



402 Death of Black Hawk. 

On tlie 9tli of September the Indian prisoners were sent tb 
Jefferson Barracks, just .below St. Louis, from which place Black 
Hawk, witli the Prophet, was sent to Washington, arriving there 
the following April, ISoo. On the '26th they were sent to Fort- 
ress Monroe, where tliev remained till the ith of June, when 
they were ordered to be sent back to their own country. 

On the way Black Hawk was received with ovations in all the 
large cities through which he passed. Even ladies of high rank 
flattered liim M'ith smiles and compliments, to whom he, not 
wishing to be outrivaled in politeness (in his way), responded: 
Fietty squaw! Pretty squaw! 

On returning to his country, he was restored to his tribe as a 
chief, subordinate to Keokuk. He spent his last days in quiet- 
■ ness, dying on the 3d of October, 1838, at his home on the Des 
Moines river, in Iowa. He was buried in a sitting posture, after 
the Indian custom, near the present village of lowaville in Wa- 
pello county, and a mound six feet high raised over the remains 
of the ill-starred chieftain, who must ever stand recorded as The 
last native defender of the soil of the Northwest J^ 

*Our Mr. Lincoln, whom Chicago delig'hts to claim, at least as one of her trans- 
cient citizens, served in the Black Hawk War six weeks, but humorously says 
that he fought nothing but iiiosquitoes. Out of this experience grew an incident 
which is told by Hon. Isaac N. Arnold, in a pamplilet published by the Chicago 
Historical Society, as follows : 

" When Major Anderson visited Washington after his evacuation of Fort 
Sumter, he called at the White House to pay his respects to the President. 
After the Chief Magistrate had expressed his thanks to Anderson for his conduct 
in South Carolina, Mr. Lincoln said: ' Major, Do you remember of ever meeting 
ine before?' 'No,' replied Anderson; ' 1 have no recollection of ever having 
had that pleasure.' 'My memory is better than yours', said Mr. Lincoln. 
' You mustered me into the United States service as a high private of the Illinois 
volunteers at Dixon's Ferry, in the Black Hawk Wax." 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

'Chicago as Seen hy Philo Carpenter in 1832 — Eli B. Wil 
Hams' Report of Chicago in 1833 — Cook County Organized 
— The Town of Chicago Organized under a Board (f Trus- 
tees — The Mouth of the River Opened — The First Public 
Loan — Indian Treaty of 1830 — Ditto 0/1833 at Chicago — 
Graphic Description of Chicago and the Treaty hy an En- 
glish Traveler — The Indian Titles Extinguished — The In- 
dians Removed. 

The great plateau of nortliern Illinois was now vacant. Its 
nnmeasured plains over which the summer winds waved the tall 
prairie graves into changing lines of green, before the occasional 
traveler who crossed thetri, laid out temptingly before the em- 
igrant. The Indian was gone. Tliev had left nothing but the 
graves of their fathers. They had not even marred the beauty of 
the groves which stood upon the rolling heath like islands of the 
ocean, in majestic solitude. The wolves and a few deer were their 
only tenants, except the birds. The conquest of the J^orthwest 
was now com])leted. The spasmodic throe of lingering native 
power that had been quickened into a fleeting activity by the 
courage of Black Hawk, had vanished. Many of the men who 
witnessed all this are still living and jostling their way along the 
stage of life in its accumulating activity, that the march of pro- 
gress has stimulated to high- water mark amongst us. But a few 
years more will see the last one of them gathered into the fold 
among their fathers, and then our age will descend into history 
as an epoch of progress unparalleled in its records. 

There are now (1880), two men living in Chicago who were 
residents of the place before the Black Hawk War, and have 
been representatives of its vital interests, and witnessed itt' 
growth from a lea of sand-ridge, marsh and forest, to a city of over 
half a million; — have seen it in its gradations from an obscure mil- 
itary post on the exti-eme versa^o, of Western settlements, to the 
■commercial center of the great l^orthwest.* One of these, Gurdon 

* Besides these two is another, Mr. F. D. Park, who arrived at Chieag'O Aujrust 
'20th, 1831, and is still a resident of the city, an esteemed citizen, who has never 
intermingled in public affairs to make himself widely known. 



404 Novel Mode of Traveling. 



S. Hubbard, has already been memorized in preceding chapters,. 
as his active life has interwoven its records into Chicago history. 
The other is Philo Carpenter, who is associated with later record* 
of Chicago. 

He came to the place in 1832, starting from Troy, N. Y., in 
May. He took the Erie Canal to Buffalo, and from thence took 
■passage on the steamer Enterprise (Capt. AValker, Master), to 
Detroit. Four and a half days was then the usual time for this 
passage. Detroit was the Western limit of established lines of 
Western transportation, but a mail coach consisting of a Penn- 
sylvania covered wagon with a concave body, was di-awn by two 
horses slowly through the wilderness road to Niles once a week, 
from wlience the mail was carried to Chicago on horseback, a 
half-breed generally performing the service. From Detroit to 
Niles, Mr. Carpenter with another gentleman named G. W, 
Snow, came in the mail coach. Niles was an old settled French 
trading post, and at this time enjoyed a fair trade, principally with 
Indians. Supplies were transported to the place from Detroit 
by way of the lake to the mouth of the St. Joseph, which latter spot 
had been an important point ever since La Salle had built a. 
fort here in 1680. From here freight was transported to I^iles 
by means of flat boats, propelled by shoulder poles, as our worthy 
Mr. Lincoln used to move his lumber rafts through sluggish wa- 
ters when a boatman. 

Mr. Carpenter with Mr. Snow took passage from Niles to the 
mouth of the St. Joseph River on one of these boats, expecting 
to complete the last part of their journey on board a sloop which 
made occasional trips from this place to Chicago ; but in this they 
were disappointed. The last trip made by this craft to Chicago 
was just after General Scott's arrival at the place, and so great 
was the terror caused by the contagion that he brought, that no 
inducement could influence the master of the sloop to return. In 
this emergency two Indians came to Mr. Carpenter, and by meanS' 
of signs offered to convey him and liis conipanian to their destina- 
tion in a small boat along the shore around the head of the lake. 
Five dollars was the fare, half down and the balance at the end of 
the journey. The terms being accepted, the Indians took to the 
woods, and soon returned with several long strips of elm bark. 
These were quickly tied together till a long tow line was impro- 
vised and attached to the rude boat, wliicli was the excavated 
trunk of a tree. One Indian seized the line and started off on a 
trot, tugging the clumsy craft along the shore, while the other 
steered. By taking turns a speed of five miles an hour was at- 
tained. When the first night overtook them, as chance would 
have it, a schooner lay stranded on the beach, and its captain in- 
vited the travelers to accept his hospitalities. A supper of veui- 



Chicago in 1833. 4^05 

cion, a good berth and breakfast followed. In the morning the 
Indians took their places, one at the helm and the other at the 
tow line; the travelers seated themselves in the boat; a few extra 
.strains of the swarthy toiler raised the speed and rapidly he tug- 
ged along the sandy shore — the exponents of a civilization destined 
"to exterminate his own race. The next night found them 
^at the mouth of the Calumet. Here John Mann kept a tavern, 
and also a ferry, but he with his family had fled to Chicago, lest 
some Indian on the w^ar-path should attack them to subserve the 
interests of Black Hawk. Mr. Carpenter and his companion 
entered his forsaken house and spent the night, and in the morn- 
ing resuming their journey in the usual way, soon came to the 
place where the Douglas Monument now stands. Here a settler 
lived named Joel Ellis, well known to some of the old settlers 
now livino;. One of the Indians was now attacked with colic, 
perhaps caused by the fear of the cholera, and both refused to pro- 
ceed farther, but Mr. Ellis yoked his oxen to a lumber wagon, the 
travelers seated themselves in it, and after an hour's toilincj over 
the sand ridges, the American flag waving over the block house 
at Fort Dearborn met tlieir view. 

The streets of the embryo town had been staked out but no 
grading had been done, not even a dirt road thrown up. A 
"wagon track took a circuitous way from one house to another, ac- 
^'ommodating itself to the oozy sloughs which seamed the land- 
scape. The places connected by tliis track were tirst the fort 
-with its adjuncts, occupying the grounds south of the present 
'Rush street bridge, from which the path took a western direction 
to Russell Heacock's log building, which stood on tiie bank of 
the river at the junction of a deep run, the mouth of which was 
where State street now comes to the river. A foot-log across it 
gave Mr. Heacock a nearer way to the post oflice, which was then 
at the Fork* (Wolfs Point), but the main road curved around the 
head of this run, or rather to a place above its abrupt bank where 
it. could be crossed. The road next threaded its way to a log 
building about at the present corner of Clark and water streets, 
where Geo. AV. Dole and Oliver I^ewberry kept a commission 
house. The next building on the road in its western course was 
a new frame, the first of its kind ever erected in Chicago; it 
wsis located near the present corner of La Salle and Water streets, 
built by P. F. W. Peck, and occupied by him as a dry goods 
store. It stood till the great flre of 1871, contrasting strangely and 
incongruously with its adjacent companions. The next building 
•ou the primitive highway was the post-office, at which was also a 

* Mr. Heacock came to Chicago in 1827. He was the first lawyer who settled 
aatthe place. — W. H. Hijki.but. 



406 Topography of Chicago. 

general store kept by John S. C. Hogan. It stood wliere Water" 
street now meets Lake street diagonal!}^, just east of the bridge, 
Immediatelv south ot'tliis on Market street, stood a log tavern kept 
by Mark Beanbien. This was sometimes called the Sauganash, 
butit wasnot the famous Hotel known by that name subsequent- 
ly erected about at the present corner of Franklin and Lake 
Streets. Besides these buiklings, was the residence of John Bap- 
tise Beaubien, south of the fort on the bank of the river, past its 
turn as it took its sandy way into the hike. These are all the im- 
provements on the South side, as reported by Mr. Carpenter oni 
his first arrival at Chicago. 

Speaking of the area occupied by the sand-bar and river itself,. 
east of the elevated bank on which the fort stood, he says it was 
ever changing in form, and such portions of it as one day ap- 
peared above water were liable to be submerged the next day. 
J^or was the mouth of the river any more permanent in its loca- 
tion, for there was no spot from IS^orth to South in this low heath 
of moving sands that had not at certain times been its channel, 
in obedience to the whimsical action of the winds and waves. 
At its immediate mouth the river was not more than twelve inches 
deep during ordinary summer seasons, while a few feet above, it 
deepened to fifteen feet or niore, but the freshets of Spring, or au 
excessive rain at any time might produce a current in the river 
sufiicient to clear away the sand at its mouth to a depth as low a» 
the botton of the river above. This dej^th could only be main- 
tained as long as the swollen waters were able to resist the coun- 
ter action of the waves, which would quickly choke the mouth 
of the river again wlien its active current subsided. 

Geology has revealed the history of many of the physical 
changes which are apparent on the face of nature in its present 
adaptation to our Nvants, and of these changes observation, even 
unaided by science, shows how the recent finishing up of great 
geological changes has been completed. That lake Michigan has 
been receding for several centuries does not admit of a doubt 
when one carefully notes the topography of its south- western- 
water-shed. The rapids of the Illinois river at Marsailles once 
bore the same relation to the great lakes on the west that Niag- 
ara Falls now bears on the east. The evidence of this is found 
in the valley which once constituted the gently sloping banks 
of a western outlet of the lakes. This must have been when the- 
face of the lake was thirty or more feet higher than its present 
level. At that time the Desplaines river must liave emptied 
into the lake, and as the latter receded, its waval action, by ob- 
tetrncting its mouth, as it subsequently did the mouth of the Chi- 
cago river, turned it into the Illinois Valley. Even as late as^ 
1849, during a ffreat fiood, the swollen waters of the Desplaines^ 



Chicago ^'72- 1833. . 40T 

found their old channel to the lake through the Chicago river, 
carrying ship])ing and bridges along in its irresistible career.) 
How much more lake Michigan may recede depends on the friable 
nature of the rock at Niagara Falls and the bed of the Detroit 
river, which as yet seems to be inflexible enough to give many 
centuries lease of the present height of the lake before it can re- 
cede sufficiently to leave Chicago as an inland city. Till then 
she may drink of the brimming cup which the economy of na- 
ture has brought to her lips, and if, by the wisdom and justice 
of our country's laws, our governniont stands and continues to 
dispense an even measure of justice to all its subjects till the ev- 
olutions of nature shall have changed the location of our laro-e 
cities, we shall present a spectacle never before recorded in the 
world's history. 

The solution of this problem belongs to the future. It will 
not follow the mandates of our dogmas or the whims of specula* 
tion, but a thousand years hence the merits of Oriental, Gi'i'cian 
and Christian civilization will be compared with each other by 
Transcendental Philosoph}-, which is always parsimonious in its 
praise and lavish in its censure; meantime we shall wag along, 
each one doing all he can to contribute his mite to make up the 
,^um tota^l of the grandeur of his own ago as far as the promotion 
of his own interest can do it; and the verdict of time will be 
pronounced in favor of that civilization whose policy the most 
largely turns private enterprise into, and secures private interr 
ests in, channels not antagonistic to, but in harm(my with the 
public good. Let us convince our "i)osterity that Christian civir 
lization can win in this sul)lime rivalry. Let us return to Chi- 
cago, which we left where Mr. Car])enter found it. 

Mr. Eli. 13. Williams may be regarded as next in chronologi- 
cal order of the living witnesses of early Chicago. Lie is a native 
of Connecticut, and with his wife arrived at Chicago, April 14th, 
1833. From Detroit they came in their owu private carriage 
across the country through Ypsilanti and Niles, coming to the 
shore of the lake at the residence of Mr. Biella, who with his 
family were spoken of in the previous cha^^ter. From this place 
they followed the immediate shore of the lake to Chicago, ferry- 
ing over the Calumet at Mr. Man's ferry, arriving at the ]ilace 
the next day in the afternoon. Leaving the Fort at their right 
they bent their course across the open prairie towards thefoi-k of 
the river. Here they found a log tavern kept by Mark LeaubieUi 
Several Indians were lounging around the door, in the listless 
manner peculiar to their race, which was not calculated to assure 
a lady from (Connecticut with confidence, and Mr. Williams, a^ 
the suggestion of his wife, drove across the river on a floating log 
l)ridge, to a tavern kept by Charles H. Taylor. Here they. stopped 



46^ Chicago Incorporated. 

several days to take observations, after which Mr. Williams de- 
cided to settle here, under an impression that a late appropriation 
which Congress had made to improve the river and harbor, to- 
gether with the canal when finished, would insure a respectable 
sized town, where the religious and educational institutions of his 
native State might be re-produced. 

The entire white population of Chicago did not then exceed 
200 persons, but there was a much larger Indian population, 
which, though transient, served to swell the volume of trade, and 
Mr. Williams concluded to open a store at once. His place of 
business was on South Water street, east of Geo. W. Doles. 
This he built, making the frame from green timber, cut from the 
forests on the North Side, hewn to a snap-line* with a broad^axe 
in the old-fashioned way. The weather boarding came from St. 
Joseph, which then furnished Chicago her lumber as much as it 
does now her peaches. The flooring came from a saw mill which 
had just been built by the enterprising Mr. ISTaper, at Naper- 
ville, who must be recorded as one of the pioneers in the lumber 
trade to Chicago. 

In 1831, the county of Cook had been organized, including 
within its area the present counties of Dupage, Lake, McHenry, 
Will and Iroquois, receiving its name from Daniel P. Cook, a 
member of Congress from Southern Illinois. Samuel Miller, 
Gholson Kercheval and James Walker, were sworn into office as 
County Commissioners, March 8th 1831, by John S. C. Hogan, 
justice, Wm. See was clerk, and x\rchibald Clybourn Treasurer, 
Jedediah Wooley was county Surveyor. Three election districts 
were organized, one at Chicago, one on the Dupage River, and 
one on Hickory Creek.f 

It was not until two years later that the town of Chicago took 
any action towards organizing, when under general Statute law, 
they held an election for this purpose, xlugustlOth, 1833, and in- 
corporated tlie embryo town. Only twenty eight votes were cast^ 
which was but a feeble constituency with which to start a metrop- 
olis. P. J. Y. Owen, Geo. W. Dole, Mederd Beaubien, John 
Miller and E. S. Kiinberlj, were elected as trustees. A log jail 
was built on the public square where the court house has since 
been erected. An estray pen was also built at an expense of 
$12.00. 



*This was a straight scribe mark made along the entire length of a log by 
means of stretching a chalked string from end to end on it, making it fast at 
each extremity. The string was then raised up perpendicularly from the middle 
and being let down with a snap, left a chalk mark on the log as a guide by 
which to hew it square. This was the process in the early day of making square 
timber for frames, instead of sawing them as done at the present day. 

flTiis was tlie Southern Precinct, Hickory Creek being a branch of the Des- 
plaines in what is now Will County. ^ i • 



First - PuUiG: Loan, - '409 

The next year Mr. Williams was elected President of the Coun- 
cil Board of Trustees. Entering upon the responsibility of his 
office he found many difficulties in his path. There were various 
ipublic improvements necessar}-^ to be made to keep pace with the 
iprogress of such public works as had been projected at govern- 
ment expense, such as the Illinois and Michigan Canal and build- 
ing the north pier, and opening a straight channel for the mouth 
•of the river through the sand bar around which it had formerly 
formed a circuitous delta.* 

Clark street was then the principal highway from north to 
south. During excessive rains it was impassable in its' low 
places, and it was the first pressing want of the town to make a 
ditch on each side of it. The treasury was empty, and a loan to 
accomplish this end was necessary. By dint of much importuni- 
ty, Mr. Williams succeeded in negotiating one for $60.00 with 
Messrs. Strahan &, Scott, by becoming personally responsible for 
its payment. The amount was faithfully applied to the purpo(se 
for which it was intended, and thus the public credit and im- 
provement of Chicago began, which hav^e since been witnessed 
jiip to this date (1880) by him who inugurated them. Both Mr. 
Williams and his wife are in their full mental vigor, though ad- 
vanced in vears. 

Besides the honorable record of Mr. Williams in Chicago, an 
increased interest gathers around his recollections, from the fol- 
lowing incident: At Toland, Connecticut, in his father's house, 



* • 



From Mr. Ezekiel Morrison, who came to Chicago soon after the arrival of 
Mr. Williams, in 18o3, the following has been learned relative to the opening 
of the mouth of the river directly to the lake. In 18u8 work was commenced at 
icutting through the sand-bar to straighten the Chicago River. It was done un- 
der thf direction of Major Handy, who had charge of the government work. 
Cribs were made filled with stone and sunk across the main channel of the river 
to turn its course across the sand-bar directly into the lake, as it now runs. 
The next year, us good fortune would have it, the Desplaines overflowed the 
country intervening and caused an unusual flow of water through the Chicago 
River. Only a slight opening was made in the sand-bar, and the accumulated 
waters did the rest. A steamboat came tiirough the opening thus made the 
same Spring (1834). The north pier was then commenced to secure the ad- 
vantage thus gained. Four hundred feet was made the first year, and its 
progress continued from year to year to its present dimensions. Immediately 
after the clumuel was pierced through, the wind commenced drifting sand from 
the north bank into the river, and cribs had to be set into the bank to prevent 
the filling up of the channel. The action of the waves was also a constant 
seurce of annoyance, and threatened to destroy the utility of th;; work already 
■done, till the north pier was extended a sufficient distance into the lake to reach 
water so deep that the sand could not be moved around it by surface agitation. 
To extend this pier sufficiently to accomplish this, has been, and is still, a work 
perhaps not completed, but destined yet to engage the attention of the Chicago 
Board of Public Works. Meantime the wavaJ action is constantly making ac- 
cretions north of the pier. It has already made a belt of land half a mile into 
tihe lake and the process ia still going ou. 



410 The First Steam Engine. 

John Bnel Fitcli planned and tmilt the first steam engrne ever 
made. He, witli his assistants, worked secretly in the basement 
of the house, and continued their labors till the engine was in 
practical working order; the first of its kind which was destined 
to revolutionize the transporting as well as the manut^icturing 
interests of the world, and control the destinies of nations. 
While at work on it, says Mr. "Williams, the screeching of tiles^ 
the clink of hammers, and hissing of steam, which was heard 
outside, excited the credulity and superstition of the age, till 
witchcraft was suspected, and the whole neighborhood were beset 
with fear i'rom what was going on in the mysterious basement. 

John Fitch lived and died in penury and want, but through 
his invention the railroad and manufticturing millionaires of 
Europe and America grew into power, and the present magni- 
tude of Chicago is already traceable to the success of that experi- 
ment that from the basement of the elder Mr. Williams' liouste 
crowned the twilight of the eighteenth century with everlasting- 
fame. 

In the year 1832 the Pottawattomies of Indiana and Michigan, 
on the 20tli of October, at Camp Tippecanoe, in Indiana, con- 
cluded a treaty with the United States, by the terms of which the 
country intervening between their cession of 1816, along the line 
of the proposed canal and the Indiana line, was sold to the United 
States in the following terms: After makino- Diany reservations 
to private Indians for services rendered the State, the United 
States agreed to pay to the Pottawattomies an annuity of $15,000' 
for twenty years, besides an annuity of $600 to Billy Caldwell,. 
$200 to Alexander Robinson, and $200 to Pierre Le Clerc, during 
their lives. Further, the sum of $28,746 was to be paid to liquir 
date certain private claims against the Indians, and merchandise 
to the amount of $45,000 was to be delivered to them on signing 
the treaty, and an additional amount of merchandise, to the value 
of $30,000, was to be delivered to them at Chicago the next year 
(1833)! 

On the 27th of October, the same year, 1832, and at the same- 
place (Tippecanoe), the Pottawattomies of Indiana sold to the 
United States all the remainder of the lands which they still held 
as a tribe, in Michigan, south of Gi'and river, in Indiana, and ia 
Illinois. 

This treaty did not release the claim of the Poitawatomies^ 
Chippewaa and Otta\\,is, of Illinois, to such lands as laid north 
and west of the cession of 1816, along the track of th^ proposed 
canal, and it will thus be seen that almost all the northern por- 
tion of Illinois were still in undisputed Indian jiossession. Ap- 
propriations to build the Illinois and Michigan canal had already- 



Great Indian Treaty. 41! 

been made by the State of Illinois, to whom the alternate sec- 
tions of pnbiic lands for six miles on each side of the canal had 
been donated l)y the Government for this pnrpose. 

Since the Black Hawk war, which had bronght the country 
within the knowledge of so many enterprising young men, emi- 
gration was coming in rapidly and occupying the lands, although 
they had not yet been surveyed, but these moral pre-emptors did 
not want any better claim for an ultimate title than would result 
from actual possession. Speculators were also coming into Chi- 
cago witli cash to make investments, and it was all important 
that the Indian title to such portions of northern Illinois as the 
Sacs and Foxes had not already given up, should be speedily ex- 
tinguished. To this end the Chippewas, the Ottawas and the- 
Pottawattomies of Illinois, were summoned to a great council 
to be held in Chicago in September, 1833. Great pre])arations 
were made for this event. Besides the interest the Indians had 
in it directly as to the amounts of money and goods coming to- 
them on parting with their lands, they were the unwitting in- 
struments by which several hundred white claimants brought 
charges against the Government, either for property said to have- 
been destroyed or stolen by them, or for services done the State 
in times of Indian disturbances as measures <>f safety, or for serv- 
ices in times of peace under Government contracts. 

At this time Mr. Charles J. Latrobe, an Englishman of great 

descriptive talent, happened to be on a tour to Chicago to see the 

wonders of an American frontier, and make notes of the same for 

publication in Lcmdon.* The naiveness of his description of 

Chicago, and the transient comers to the place, both red and white,. 

to attend the treaty, are too fresh to be lost, and portions of them 

are here re-produced as a truer picture of the scene than could 

now be given: 

- "We fovind the, village on our arrival crowded to excess, and we procured witbi 
great difficulty a small apartment, com'ortless and noisy from its close prox- 
imity to others, but quite as good as we could have hoped for. 

The Pottawatomies were encamped on all sides, — on the wide level prairie be- 
yond the scattered village, beneath the shelter of the low woods which che- 
quered them, on the side of the small river, or to the leeward of the sand hills 
near the beach of the lake. They consisted of three principal tribes with cer- 
tain adjuncts from smaller tribes. The main divisions are, the Pottawatomies 
of the Prairie and those of the Forest, and these are subdivided into distinct vil- 
lages under their several chiefs. 

The General Government of the United States, in pursuance of the scheme of' 
removing the whole Indian population westward of the Mississippi, had empow- 
ered certain gentlemen to frame a Treaty with these tribes, to settle the term* 
upon which the cession of their Reservations in these States should be made 

A preliminary council had been held with the chiefs some days before our ar- 
lival. The principal Commissioner had opened it, as we learnt, by stating: 

*His Book entitled " Rambler" in America, was published in London, in 1835v.. 
It was dedicated to Washington Irving. 



412 Contents of Chicago. 

that, "as their Great Father in Washington had heard that they wished to sell 
their land, he had sent Commissioners to treat with them. ' ' The Indians prompt- 
ly answered by their organ, " that.their Great Father in Washington must have 
seen a bad bird which had told him a lie, for that far from wishing to sell their 
land they wished to keep it.' The Commissioner, nothing daunted, replied: 
'that nevertheless, as they had come together for a Council, they must take the 
matter into consideration." He then explained to them promptly the wishes 
and intentions of their Great Father, and asked their opinion thereon. Thus 
pressed, they looked at the sky, saw a few wandering clouds, and straightway 
adjourned sine die, as the weather is not clear enough for so solemn a council. 

However, as the Treaty had been opened, provision was supplied to them by 
regular rations; and the same night they had had great rejoicings, — danced 
the war- dance, and kept the eyes and ears of all open by running and howling 
.about the village. 

Such was the state of affairs on our arrival. Companies of old warriors might 
be seen sitting smoking under every bush; arguing, palavering, or " pow- wow- 
ing" with great earnestness; but there seemed no possibility of bringing them 
to another Council in a hurry. 

Meanwhile the village and its occupants presented a most motley scene. 

The fort contained within its palisades by far the most enlighted residents, in 
Ihe little knot of officers attached to the slender garrison. The quarters here 
■consequently were too confined to afford place of residence for the Government 
•Commissioners, for whom and a crowd of dependents, a temporary set of plank 
huts were erected on the north side of the river. To the latter gentlemen we, 
:as the only idle lookers on, were indebted for much friendly attention ; and in the 
frank and hospitable treatment we received from the inhabitants of Fort Dear- 
-born, we had a foretaste of that which we subsequently met with everywhere 
under like circumstances, during our autumnal wanderings over the Frontier. 
"The officers of the United States Army have perhaps less opportunities of be- 
•coming refined than those of the Navy. They are often, from the moment of 
their receiving commissions, after the termination of their Cadetship at West 
Point, and at an age when good society is of the utmost consequence to the 
joung and ardent, exiled for long years to the posts on the Northern or West- 
ern frontier, far removed from cultivated female society, and in daily contact 
-with the refuse of the human race. And this is their misfortune — not their 
fault; — but wherever we have met with them, and been thrown as strangers 
tipon their good offices, we have found them the same good friends and good 
•company. 

But I was going to give you an inventory of the contents of Chicago, when 
the recollection of the warm-hearted intercourse we had enjoyed with many fine 
fellows whom probably we shall- neither see nor hear of again, drew me aside. 

Next in rank to the Officers and Commissioners, may be noticed certain store- 
keepers and merchants resident here ; looking either to the influx of new settlers 
■establishing themselves in the neighborhood, or those passing yet further to the 
westward, for custom and profit; not to lorget the chance of extraordinary oc- 
•casions like the present. Add to these a doctor or two, two or three lawyers, 
a land-agent, and five or six hotel-keepers. These may be considered as sta- 
tionary, and proprietors of the half a hundred clapboard houses around you. 

Then for the birds of passage, exclusive of the Pottawatomies, of whom more 
anon — and emigrants and land-speculators as numerous as the sands. You will 
£nd horse-dealers, and hors-e-stealers, — rogues ofevery description, white, black, 
brown and red — half-breeds, quarter-breeds, and men of no breed at all; — 
- dealers in pigs, poultry, and potatoes; — men pursuing Indian claims, some for 
tracts of land, others, like our friend Snipe, (one of his stage coach companions 
■on the wdy) for pigs which the wolves had eaten; — creditors of the tribes, or of 
particular Indians, who know that they have no chance of getting their money, 
if they do not get it from the Government agents; — sharpei-s of every degree; 
pedlars, grog-sellers; Indian agents and Indian traders of every description, ana 
Clontractors to supply the Pottawatomies with food. The little village was in an 



Contents of Chicago. 413- 

uproar from morning toniprht, and from night to morning; for during the hours 
of darkness, when the housed portion of the population of Chicago strove to obtain 
repose in the crowded phmk edifices of the village, the Indians howled, sang, 
wept, yelled, and whooped in their various encampments. 

1 loved to stroll out towards sun-set across the river, and gaze upon the level 
horizon, stretching to the north-west over the surface of the prairie, dotted with 
innumerable objects far and near. Not far from the river lay many groups of 
tents constructed of coarse canVas, blankets, and mats, and surmounted by 
poles, supporting meat, moccasins, and rags. Their vicinity was always enliv- 
ened by various painted Indian figures, dressed in the most gaudy attire. The 
interior of the hovels generally displayed a confined area, perhaps covered with 
a few half-rotten mats or shavings, upon which men, women, children, and bag- 
gage were heaped pell-mell. 

Far and wide the grassy Prairie teemed with figures ; warriors mounted or on 
foot, squaws, and horses. Here a race between three or four Indian ponies, each 
carrying a double rider, whooping and yelling like fiends. Thei'e a solitary 
horseman with a long spear, turbaned like an Arab, scouring along at full 
speed; — groups o*^ hobbled horses; Indian dogs and children, or a grave con- 
clave of gray chiefs seated on the grass in consultation. 

It was amusing to wind silently from group to group^here noting the raised 
knife, the sudden drunken brawl, quashed by the good-natured and even play- 
ful interference of the neighbours, there a party breaking up their encampment, 
and falling with their little train of loaded ponies, and wolfish dogs, into the 
deep black narrow trail running to the north. You peep into a wi.gwam, and 
see a domestic feud; the chief sitting in dogged silence on the mat, while the 
women, of which there were commonly two or three in every dwelling, and whO' 
appeared every evening even more elevated with the fumes of whiskey than the 
males, read him a lecture. From another tent a constant voice of wrangling 
and weeping would proceed, when suddenly an offended fair one would draw 
the mat aside, and taking a youth standing without by the hand, lead him 
apart, and sitting down on the grass, setup the most indescribable whine as she 
told her grief. Then forward comes an Indian, staggering with his chum from 
a- debauch; he is met by his squaw, with her child dangling in a fold other 
blanket behind, and the sobbing and weeping which accompanies her whining 
appeal to him, as she hangs to his hand, would melt your heart, if you did not 
see that she was quite as tipsy as himself. 

Here sitting apart and solitary, an Indian expends the exuberance of his intoxi- 
cated spirits in the most ludicrous singing and gesticulation; and there squat a 
circle of unruly topers indulging themselves in the most unphilosophic and ex- 
cessive peals of laughter. 

It is a grievous thing that Government is not strong-handed enough to put a. 
stop to the shameful and scandalous sale of whiskey to those poor miserable 
wretches. But here lie casks of it for sale under the very eye of the Commis- 
^sioners, met together for purposes, which demand that sobriety should be main- 
tained, were it only that no one should be able to lay at their door an accusation 
of unfair dealing, and of having taken advantage of the helpless Indian in a bar- 
gain, whereby the people of the United States were to be so greatly the gainers. 

And such was the state of things day by day. However anxious I and others 
might be to exculpate the United States Government from the charge of cold 
and selfish policy toward the remnant of the Indian tribes, and from that of 
resorting to unworthy and diabolical means in attaining possession of their 
lands, — as long as it can be said with truth, that drunkenness was not guarded 
against, and that the means were furnished at the very time of the Treaty, and 
under the very nose of the Commissioners, — how can it be expected but a stigma 
will attend every transaction of this kind. The sin may lie at the door of the 
individuals more immediately in contact with them; but for the character of the 
people as a nation, it should be guarded against, beyond a possibility of trans- 
gression. Who will believe that any act, however formally executed by the 
chiefs, is valid, as long as it in known that whiskey was one of the parties to the 
Treaty. 



414 Contents of Chicago. 

' But how sped the Treaty?' you will ask. 

Bay after day passed. It was in vain that the signal-gun from the fort gave 
notice of an assemblage of chiefs at the council fire. Reasons were always found 
for its delay. One day an influential chief was not in the waiy; another, the sky 
looked cloudy, and the Indian never performs an important business except the 
sky be clear. At lenfj-th, on the 21st of September, the Pottawatomies resolved 
to meet the Com mission ers. We were politely invited to be present. 

The council-fire was lighted under a spacious open shed on the green meadow, 
on the opposite side of the river from that on which the Fort stood. From the 
difficulty of getting all to-gether, it was late in the afternoon when they assem- 
bled. There might be twenty or thirty chiefs present, seated at the lower end 
of the enclosure, while the Commissioners, Interpreters, &c. were at tiie upper. 
The palaver was opened by the principal Commissioner. He requested to know 
why he and his colleagues were called to the council? An old warrior arose, 
and in short sentences, generally of five syllables, dehvered with a monotonous 
intonation, and rapid utterance, gave answer. His gesticulation was'appropriate 
but rather violent. Eice, the half-breed Interpreter, explamed the signification 
from time to time to the audience: and it was seen that the old chief, who had 
got his lesson, answered one question by proposing another, the sum and sub- 
stance of his oration being — 'that the assembled chiefs wished to know what 
was the object of then- Great Father at Washington in calling his Ked Children 
together at Chicago.' ♦ 

This was amusing enough after the full explanation given a week before at 
the opening session; and particularly when it was recollected that they had 
feasted sumptuously during the interval at' the expense of their Great Father, 
was not making very encouraging progress. A young chief rose and 'spoke ve- 
hemently to the same purpose. Hereupon the Commissioner made them a for- 
cible Jacksonian discourse, wherein a good deal wliich was akin to threat, was 
mingled with exhortations not to play with their Great Father, but to come to an 
ekrly determination, whether they would or would not sell and exchange their 
territory; and this done, the council was dissolved. One'or two tipsy old chiefs 
raised an occasional disturbance, else matters were conducted with due gravity. 

The relative positions of the Commissioner and the whites before the Council- 
fire, and that of the Red Children of the Forest and Prairie, were to me striking- 
ly impressive. The glorious light of the setting sun streaming in under the 
low roof of the Council-House, fell full on the contenances of the former as they 
faced the West— while the pale light of the East, hardly lighted up the dark 
and painted lineaments of the poor Indians, whose souls evidently clave to their 
birth-right in that quarter. Even though convinced of the necessity of their re- 
moval, my heart bled for them in their desolation and decline. Ignorant and 
degraded as they may have been in their original state, their degradation is now 
ten- fold, after years of intercourse with the whites; and their speedy disappear- 
ahce from the earth apix'ars as certain as though it were already sealed and, 
accomplished. 

Your own reflection will lead you to form the conclusion, and it will be a just 
one,— that even if he had the will, the power would be wanting, for the Indian 
to keep his territory; and that the business of arraaiging the terms of an Indian 
Treaty, whatever it might have been two hundred years ago, while the Indian 
tribes had not, as now. thrown aside the rude but vigorous intellectual charac- 
ter which distinguished many among them, now lies chiefly between the various 
traders, agents, creditors, and half-bi-eeds of the tribes, on whom custom and 
necessity have made the degraded chiefs dependent, and the Goverimient 
Agents. When the former have seen matters so far arranged their self-interest 
and vax-ious schemes and claims are hkely to be fulfilled and allowed to their 
hearts' content, — the silent acquiescence of the Indian follows of course; and 
till this is the case, the Treaty can never be amica.bly effected. In fine, before 
we quitted Chicago on the 25t.h: three or four days latter, the Treaty with the 
Pottawatomies was concluded, — the Commissioners putting their hands, and 
the assemljled chiefs their paws, to the same. 

By it, an apparently advantageous 'awop ' was made for both parties." 



Terms of the Treaty. 415 

By the terms of tins treaty the three tribes ceded to the 
United States the entire remainder of their lands in Illinois that 
had not already been sold. The ceded tract laid between the 
Rock River and Lake Michigan, embracing the entire lake shore 
north of Chicago, and all the 'lands intervening between the canal 
•cession of 1816 and the Sac and Fox and Winnebago cessions 
between the Rock and Mississippi rivers of 1830 and 1832. 

The consideration for the relinquishment of this land was first 
five million acres granted to them, situated on the east bank of 
the Missouri river south of the Boyer river, to which they were to 
be transported at the expense of the government as soon as practi- 
cable, and maintained in their new home for one year. One hun- 
dred thousand dollars was to be paid by the United States to sat- 
isfy certain claimants for reservations, and to indemnify the 
Chippewas for certain lands in Michigan, ceded to the United 
States by the Menomonees, to which they laid an equal claim. 
One hundred and fifty thousand dollars to satisfy private claims 
made against the three tribes; an annuity of fourteen thousand 
dollars per year for twenty years; one hundred and fifty thousand 
dollars to be applied to tiie erection of mills, farming tools and 
other improvements in their new home. Seventy thousand dol- 
lars to support the means of education among them, and lastly, 
four hundred dollars per annum was to be added to the annuity 
of Billy Caldwell, three hundred to that of Alexander Robinson, 
and two hundred each to the annuity of Joseph LaFromboise and 
t^habonee. 
. G. B. Porter, Th. J, Y. Owen, and William Weatherford, in 
behalf of the United States, negotiated this treaty with the Pot- 
tkwattomas, Chippewas, and Ottawas. It bears date of Chicago, 
September 26, 1833. It was the last great Indian council at this 
place, around which the red men had lingered in great numbers 
much longer after being settled by the whites than around other 
frontier settlements. 

Tiie reason of this was obvious; Chicago, after over one hundred 
years of transient French occupation, first, grew into importance 
as an English settlement through Indian trade. Moreover, 
many of its first settlers were men bred on the frontiers and felt 
no repugnance towards the Indians, but on the contrary not a 
few felt a friendship for them, strengthened by years of compan- 
ionship in the fascinating sports of border life, which not only 
level social distinctions, but accept a good fellowship through a 
rough exterior intolerable to the uninitiated civilian. Notwith- 
standing the apparent degradation of the Indian, even after be- 
ing brutalized by bad whisky, many of them could make nice 
discriminations in issues where natural rights were at stake, as 
our government agents found in their councils. They well knew 



^^IC). lieinovcd of the Indians. 

that they were the instruments by which many unjust claim* 
were brought against the government; but of this they said 
nothing, lest their own rights might be compromised by such an 
exposure. 

The amount of goods dispensed to them at Chicago to fulfill 
treaty stipulations was often very large, and in order to distrib- 
ute them equitably, men were chosen for the service whose per- 
sonal acquaintance with the Indians would enable them to do it 
in the most satisfactory manner. On these occasions the huge- 
piles of goods, consisting largely of Indiau blankets, were dis- 
pensed by piece-meal to the different Indian families according 
to their necessities, but sometimes a discarded Indian lassie, 
whose place had been substituted by a white wife, came in for 
an extra share of finery as an offset to lacerated affections. 

Two years elapsed after the Indians had sold out their interest 
in the conntrv before they were removed. This was efl'eeted bv 
Colo7iel J. P). F. Russell, whose widow is still living in Chicago. 
This lady, who is descended from the Peytons, of Virginia, has 
in her possession autograph letters of Washington and other 
fathers of our country, besides many valuable i-elics of early 
Chicago, ain<)ng which is the journal kept by her husband du- 
ring his public service. To her courtesy the writer is indebted 
for much valuable information, among which are the following 
items from Mr. Russell's journal : 

" The first party of Indians left Cbiai^'o. >Sept. 21, 1835, with the Chiefs, Rob- 
inson, Caldwell, and La Framboise, and proceeded to their place of rendezvous, 
on the Desplaines, 12 miles from Chicago, a place of meetino- usual on such oc- 
casions. I met them in council and presented to them the objects of the meet- 
ing and the views of the government relative to their speedy removal to their 
new country. They wished to defer answering what I had said to them for two- 
days, to which I consented. Sunday, 28th. Provided teams and transporta- 
tion for the removal of the Indians." The journal next proceeds j:o detail the 
particulars of his thankless toil in satisfying the real and whimsical necessities 
of his captious charge, who honored him with the appelation of Father, and 
vexed him with complaints continually. Their first stopping place was Skunk 
River, in Iowa. Patogashah started with his band to winter at this place, 
which was the first party to start independent of government assistance. Rob- 
inson had command of a separate party, Caldwell another, Wabansie another, 
and Holliday another, and Robert Ivinzie and Mr. Kerchival assisted Mr. Rus- 
sell in superintending the whole. 

Fort Des Moines, on the Mississippi river, lay on their route- 
to Fort Leavenworth, whicli was their destination, on the Mis- 
souri river, from whence they were to draw their supplies, aa- 
stipulated by the government at the treaty, as they settled them- 
selves in their new home adjacent. The whole tribe were not 
removed to their new liome till the next year, 1836, when the 
last remnant of them took their leave of the country around the- 
head of Lake Michigan, which they liad occupied for two centu- 
ries, as shown in foregoing pages. 



Final Destination of the Pottaioatomies. 41 T 

Two years after tlieir settlement near Fort Leaveinvortli, owing 
to feelino-s of hostility which the frontier settlers felt towards 
them, they were removed to Council Blntfs, from whence, after 
remaining a few years, they were removed to where they now 
live, diminished in numbers fi-om 5,000, at the time they were 
removed from Chicago, to less than lialf that number.* 

Mr. Russell's success in removing them was the result of his 
frontier militarj^ experiences on the borders of Maine, together 
with his habits of activity, tempered with patience. He deserves 
mention among the early settlers of Chicago, because his name 
is interwoven with its history. He was born in Boston in ISOO, 
well descended from Kevolutionary stock, his father being a pat- 
riot editor, and his uncle (Major Ben, Russell), was stationed at 
West Point at the time of Arnold's treason. Mr. Russell's first 
•c\ -rival at Chicago was July 21st, 1832, he having been ordered 
to join General Scott here. His wife did not come to the place 
till the summer of 1835, when, in company of General Cass and 
his two daughters she ari-ived, and tliev were o-uests at the Sa- 
gaunash. They were from this time permanent residents of Chi- 
cago, well known by all tJie early settlers. Mr. Russell's death 
took place Jan. 3d, 1861. His remains rest at Rose Hill. 

*The report from the office of Indian affairs in Kansas, Sept. 1st, 1878, says : 
The Pottawattomies are advancing in education, morality, Christianity, and self- 
support. A majority of tliera have erected substantial houses, planted fruit 
trees, and otherwise beautified their surroundings. The average attendance at 
a school which the government provides for them is 29, from an enrollment of 
44. The school buildings are well supplied with faculties for boarding and lodg- 
ing the pupils, and also for teaching the females household duties. Their reser- 
vation contains 77,357 acres of land in Jackson county. Their wealth in indi- 
vidual property amounts to 1241,650. On their farms they have reapers, mow- 
ers, planters, cultivators, and other agricultural machinery, all of the most 
modem patterns. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

The BeoAihiens — Pioneer Hotel— Ingenious Device for Lodg- 
ings — The Pioneer Newspaper — Its Subscription List — 
Woljf'-s Point — Its Inhabitants — Alexander Robinson — His 
Character — His Wonderful Age — Shabonee — His Character 
— Chicago in 1834 — Chicago in 1835 — Turning the First 
Sod for the Canal — Celebration of the Event — Its Conse- 
q^uences — The Last Records of Chicago as a Town — List of 
Old Settlers. 

Among the pioneers of Chicago the Beaubiens deserve a place, 
for without them a chasm would be left unabridged between the 
old French and Indian regime, and the Anglo American of to- 
day. 

In the year 1817, Coiiant & Mack, a Detroit Fur Company, 

established a house at Lee's Place on the Chicago river, South 

Branch, under the general superintendence of Mr. John Crafts, as 

already stated in a previous chapter, and Mr. John Baptiste Beau- 

bien was in his service as local agent, which was the means of 

bringing him to the place to settle. A few months later the 

American Fur Company bought out the house established at Lee's 

place and established one at Chicago, at the same time imposing 

upon Mr. Crafts the entire duties of the Chicago house, which of 

course displaced Mr. Beaubien.* He still remained at the place, 

having purchased of Mr. Dean, an army contractor, the house 

and enclosure containing a garden and field adjacent to the fort, 

known as the Dean house, for one thousand dollars. 

" Colonel Beanbien built another house upon this place, and continued the oc- 
cupant of it till 1886. In 182H the factory houses adjoining, or on the same 
premises, were sold by order of the Secrerary of the Treasury, to Wm. Whiting', 
who sold the same to the American Fur Company, and of whom Col. Boaubien 
purchased the buildings of the factory for the sum of five hundred dollars. Mr. 
Beaubien by these purchases became the owner and occupant of all the prem- 
ises of the so called Reservation, outside of the fort, and claimant to the lands 
not covered by the building-s of the government. Upon these facts Mr. Beaubien 
set up his claim as a pre-emptioner to the south west fractional quarter of sec- 
tion ti'n, township thirty-nine north, range fourteen east, as being the sole oc- 
cupant and in actual possession on the 9th of May, 1830, the date of the pre- 
emption law. He therefore applied on the 7th of May, 1831, to the land office 

*Gurdon S. Hubbard. 



The Br-auhiens. 419 

^t Palestine, for a pre-emption, which wns rejected ; thougrh on the same day 
a pre-emption was granted to Robert A. Jvinzie, for the north fractional quarter 
•of the same section, which was the part occupied by the Kinzjg family, since de- 
fined as Kinzie's addition to Chicago. He applied again in 1834 to the land 
■office at Danville for a pre-emption, and was again refused. On the 2Hth of 
May, 1835, Col. Beaubien applied to the land office in Chicago, — the office in the 
meantime having been established here — and having proved to the satisfaction 
•of the Register and Receiver that he was entith'd to pre-emption, he entered the 
same and received his certificate theri'fbr. 'J'he lands had been retained and his 
applications resisted on the gr mnd of the tract being claimed by the United 
States for military purposes. The land had been surveyed by government in 
1821, and in 1824, at the instance of the Indian Agent ; the Secretary of War 
requested the Commissioner of the General Land Office to reserve this land for 
■the acc(:mmodation and protection of the property of the Indian Agency ; and 
the Commissioner did inform the Secretary that he had reserved it trom sale for 
military pui'poses. Beaubien had received the registrar's certificate — l)ut his 
title to the propeiy was resisted, and the case traversed the courts to the Su- 
preme Bench of the United States, and the land was finally held by the United 
States, and was surveyed into lots and sold by order of the President, in 1839. 
Mr. Beauliien was allowed as a special favor, some of the lots which had been 
covered by his homestead, which has proved a fortune equal to the original 
expectation of the Avhole tract of the Reservation. 

Within a sliort time he has made some changes in his estate in Chicago, and 
has I'emoved with his family to his farm on the Des Piaines, near the reservation' 
of Alexander Robinson, the late chief of the United Tribes of the Pottawato- 
mies, Ottawas and Chippewas." — Zebina Eastman s History of CMccifjo, puh- 
li shed in the Chicru/o Mngaziite, Mat/, 1857. 

About tliis time he married a half breed, named Josette La- 
Fromboise, who had been in the employ of John Kiiizie previous 
to the massacre. During this time her parents lived in a log- 
house at the head of the south branch of the Chicago river, at 
which place she took refuge after the massacre and remained till 
her marriage, the ceremony being performed by Father Rechere. 
Her father, J. B. LaFromboise, was a man'of education. His wife, 
an Ottawa girl, the mother of Josette, soon learned to read and 
write, and taught an Indian school at Chicago.* A son of this 
union, Alexander Beaubien, is now a resident of Chicago, from 
whom the facts liave heen learned. Medard B. Beaubien, an 
<jlder son, cast his lot witli the Indians when they were removed 
from Chicago, and is now with them at Silver Lake, Kansas. 
There are numerous other children and descendents of the Beau- 
l)iens living amongst us. The interest of Mr. J. B. Beaubien being 
.attached to Chicago, he induced his brother Mark to come from 
Michigan, their original'residence, who arrived at the town in 
1826. Soon after his arrival he bought a small log house which 
John Kinzie liad built, about at the present corner of Lake and 
Market streets, for one hundred dollars. Here he opened a tavern, 
if his hut deserved such a name. The manner in which he enter- 
tained his guests, according to his own statement when interview- 
ed by a Times reporter in 1876, affords a specimen of ingenious 

* Schoolcraft's thirty years. 



420 The Kinzles. 

andacitv which could onlv be condoned bv that brinimino: exu- 

berance of jolity and good fellowship that ever abided around him 

and disarmed criticism. Savs this incarnation of corned v: 

"I had no ped, but when traveler come for lodoing, I give him planket to cover 
himself up in on de floor, and tell him to look out, for Ingun steal it. Den when 
he gits to sleep I take de planket way carefulh- an give it to noder man and tell 
him same, so I always have peels for all dat want em. 

This device "was certainlv not the result of anv nio-o-ardlv disposi- 

«.■ OCT* t 1 

tion on his part; but a necessarj^ expedient bv which no.iinest 
should be rejected from his entertainment. From this small be- 
ginning he rose in respectability, until in 1831 he enhirged his 
tavern to a two storv building with green blinds, and in honor of 
Billy Caldwell, whose Indian name was Sagaunash, thus named 
the house. 

He is the father of twentv-three children, sixteen bv his first wife, 
whom he married at Detroit, Michioan. and seven bv his second'.. 
His present home is Xewark, Illinois, where he is enjoying a 
o-reen old aire, not vet forsaken bv that excess of ffood humor that 
has carried liim so easily through a life, that without it, must have 
been full of perplexity. A single look at tlie ingenious old man 
might for the moment lifr the burden from a sorrowing heart.* 

Equally allied to what may •with propriety be called the medie- 
val period of Chicago's history, is Mr. Robert Kinzie, (^younger 
brother of John H\ Both were here at the time of the massacre, 
and rescued with their father, John Kinzie. and returned to the 
place in 1816, since wliioh time Chicago has been their home the 
most of their time till their deaths. That of John H. has already 
been noticed. Bobert survived him till December 13th, 1873,. 
when he passed away and was buried in Graceland. His wife is 
still living in Chicago. Her maiden name was Gwiuthlean H. 
Whistler. Her grandfather was the same who built Fort Dear- 
born in 1803. She was born at Fort Howard, and spent her 
infantile years in that wild frontier till eleven years old, when 
she went with her father to Fort Niagara, from wliich place, after 
a three years' residence, he came to Chicago to take command ot 
Ft. Dearborn, she accompanying liim. Here she married Mr. R. 
Kinzie in 1834. Helen M. and Maria H., daughters of John 
Kinzie were born in Cliicago, the former in 1805 and the latter in 
1807. Both were rescued from the massacre with their older 
brothers, John H. and Robert. Maria H. became the wife of 
General David Hunter. Both she and iier husband are now liv- 
ing in Washington. 

Volumes could be written on the experiences of these male and 

*The writer called on him when he lived neai* Naperville, in 1860. His old 
fashioned French furniture seemed to still link him back to his own early age.. 



The First jVeivsj)a2ye/\ 421 

"female pioneers. It is retVeshino; to be in their presence and 
commune with them on the age that has just preceded the one 
in which we live. They were educated in a school that tran- 
:scended the average solicitudes of our day in utilitarian condi- 
tions. The problem with them how they w'ere to secure the 
positive wants of the mind and body, was ever foremost of that 
as to how they should obtain the fictitious ones'; hence their 
•etforts were not wasted in the pursuit of the unattainable, for the 
destined goal of bim who seel>s the fulfillment of capricious and 
selfish purposes only, vanishes in the distance as age begins to 
shorten the step and check the force of his career; and he dies 
under the painful conviction that he has lived in vain. The an- 
tidote to this last despair is found in an active life, with our 
mental joints (if the metaphor is admissible) lubricated with that 
kind of magnanimity that pioneer life is almost sure to beget, 
:and which is by no means a lost art, even in this age of sharp 
rivalship, tliough ^t is not too much to say that newly settled 
countries are more favorable to its growth. 

A new era -now opens upon Chicago, one destined to spread 
her fame throughout the world, and to infuse into newspaper 
literature that essential manifesto of progress which the elastic 
spirits of new countries are sure to call into being. To say less 
than this would not do full justice to Chicago journalism. 

On the 26tii of November, 1833, the first sheet appeared under 
»che title of The Chicago Democrat, edited and published by 
-John Calhoun, corner of LaSalle and South Water streets. A 
well written editorial appears in the first number, setting lorth 
the policy of the paper with temperate and modest pretensions 
withal, evincing a masterly skill in editorial capability which 
does honor to his arm}'^ of successors. The same number con- 
gratulates the Chicagoans on the success of Mr. Owen at the 
treaty just negotiated, in overcoming the objections of the Indi- 
ans to removing to their new home in Missoui'i, and equally con- 
gratulates the Indians on the prospect of soon getting out of the 
reach of the depradations of " unprincipled civilized borderers." 
Liberal quotations from literary journals, poetr}^, as good as the 
average newspaper musiiigs, wat and wisdom, and a moderate 
amount of advertisements, fill up the six column sheet crcditabh'. 

The third number advertises an English and classical academy, 

•corner of Water and Franklin streets, which must have been the 

first of its kind in Chicago. In the issue of June 11th, 1831, is 

-a quotation from Cobbett, the English historian and essayist, 

evidently intended as a trite description of Chicago young girls: 

"The fr'ivh of America" (says this Catholic Father), "are beautiful and 
cinaffected ; perfectly frank, and at the same time perfectly modest; but when 



422 



Subscrijjtion List. 



you make them an offer of your hand, be prepared to f?iveit., for wait thoy wilF 
not. In England we frequently hear of courtships of a quarter of a century. 
In that anti-Malthusian country a quarter of a year is deemed to be ralher 
lengthy." 

Junelltli, 1834, the following appears, which is reproduced ii> 

these pages to show the progress of emigration and the means oT 

travel : 

Hardly a vessel arrives that is not crowded with emigrants, and the stage- 
that now runs twice a week from the East is thronged with travelers. The 
Bteamboat Pioneer, which now poi-forms her regular trips ta St. Jost^pji, is also 
a great accommodation to the traveling community. Loaded teams and cov- 
ered wagons, laden with families and goods, are daily arriving and settling 
upon the country back. 

June 28th the editor congratulates Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 
prospect of a railroad to connect with the Miami canal. 

The Illinois and Michigan canal is frequently commented on,, 
not only as essential to the success of Chicago, but as a national 
necessity. 

The subscription list of the paper is still preserved, and is 
copied here as a valuable record of the business )nen of Chicago- 
at that day, for nearly all took the paper. 

— City subscription book of Chicago Democrat, dated November, 1833. 



A. Lloyd, 

C. k 1. Harmon, 
Chester IngersoU, 
Dr. W. Clark, 
John Miller, 
Samuel Brown, 
Newberry & Dole, 
G. Kerclieval, 
James Kinzie, 
E. A. Rider, 
H. B. Clark, 
Robert Kinzie, 
P. J. Lewis, 
P. F. W. Peck. 
James H. Mulford, 
John Wiight, 
Alanson Sweet, 
R. M. Sweet, 
Philo Carpenter, 
G. Spring, 
John K Boyer, 
Star Fool. 
M. B. Beaubien, 
T. J. V. Owen, 
W. H. Brown, 

B. Jones. 
1. Allen. 

J. K. Botsford, 
J. B. Tuttle, 
Col. R. I. Hamilton, 
Charles Wiseucraft, 
E. S. Thrall, 



J. Dean Caton, 
Eli B. Williams, 
Samuel Wayni'i^n, 
Archibald Clj'bourn, 
Augustus Rugsley, 
Silas B. Cobb, 
Abel Breed, 
E. H. Haddock, 
Irad Hill, 
Albert Forbes, 
Doct. Maxwell, 
Hiram llugenin, 
A. Menill, 
James Herrington, 
George N. Powell, 
Jonathan Hix, 
Joseph A. Barnes, 
Mancel Talcott, 
Alanson Filer, 
Douglas Sloan, 
A. Woodruff, 
Daniel Elston, 
Luther Hatch, 
George W. Snow, 
P. L. Updyke, 
John L. Sergents. 
John Watkins, 
Mat hi as Mason, 
John Welimaker, 
I. Solomon, 
N. F. Hurd. 
James Mitchell, 



Charles Viani, 

Lt. L. T. Jamie.son, 

Librarian, Ft. Dearborn^ 

E. Went worth. 

George Walker. 

Stephen E. Downer,, 

Abel E. Carpenter, 

John B. Beaubien, 

Parke '• M. Cole, 

J. R. Brown, 

Solomon Lincoln, 

r. Forbes, 

Rufus Brown, 

Rev. Jeremiah Porter,, 

T. C. Sproat, 

Peter Warden, 

Philip Scott, 

E. W. Casey, 

J. L. Thompson, 

H. T. Hardhig, 

E. S. Kimberly, 

P. Pruyn, 

Peter Cohen, 

Brewster, Hogan & Co^ 

C. H. Chapmau, 

Piatt Thorn, 

J. P. Brady, 

Jacob G. Patterson, 

George Hertinjjton, 

Alexander N. Fullerton» 

M. K. Brown, 

Silas W. Shei-man, 



Early Job Printing. 



423 



Nelson R. Norton, 
Benjiimin Hall, 
N. Caqjenter, 
Hiram Lumbard, 
Samuel Harmon, 
J. W Reed, 
Walter Kimball, 
William Taylor, 
H. Barnes, 
E. Brown, 
Ahisa Hubbard, 
R. E. Herrick, 
Thomas Hoyt, 
Edward E. Hunter, 
John Noble, 
Ford Freeman, 
Hiram Pease, 



Oliver Losier, 
John Marshall, 
S. Ellis, 
Isaac Harmon, 
C. B. Dodson, 
L. Barnes, 
Richard Steele, 
Henry Hopkins, 
Elijah Clark, 
William Taylor, 
Mai-k Beaubien, 
John H. Kenzie, 
C. H. Chapman, 
Paul Burdeck, 
Georg-e Bickerdike, 
Aug. Penoyer, 
Jones & King. 



Robert Williston, 
John Davis, 
H. C. West, 
Byron Kingi 
John T. Temple, 
William Cooley. 
Rathbone Sanford, 
Orsemus Morrison, 
James Widker, 
Gilbert Carpenter, 
Benjamin Briggs, 
W. Vanderberg, 
Benjamin F. Barker, 
Samuel Brown, 
H. I. Cleveland, 
S. C. George, 
B. Caldwell, 



The Account Book which Mr. Calhoun kept is equally valua- 
ble as a memento of the village days of Cliicago. Among the 
charges for job printing, ball tickets, are no inconsiderable item. 

Government blanks for the land office* were a good source of 
income, for which Mr. Callioun may thank his young wife, not 
only for her patient industry in helping to execute the jobs, but 
for her inventive genius in improvising a way to press the 
printed sheets to give them the necessary finish after being 
priiited. For the want of a lever press to do tliis Mrs. Calhoun 
suggested a flat-iron, and oflered to iron every sheet in a run of 
3,000, which she did, and turned out the job in immaculate 
smoothness. Besides assisting her husband by this laborious 
undertaking, she helped him in correcting his proof, and in the 
general executive labors of the office. 

By the request of her husband she preserves during her life- 
time the entire file of his papers, and I trust that I betray no 
coniidence by stating that, from ray conversation with her as to 
their final disposition, I infer that she will bequeath them to the 
Chicago Historical Society. 

The last issue of his paper bears date of November 16th, 1836, 
two days before which time by contract it was sold to Horatio 
Hill, a present resident of ('hicago, and brother of Isaac Hill, of 
New Hampshire, its hard money Governor who said, in order to 
give point to his issue with the Whig party, that a bank of dirt 
was the best bank, and a plow-share the best share in it.f Mr. 
Hill immediately transferred his contract to Mr. John Went- 



*The Govt. Land Office was opened June 1st, 1835, under charge of Col. E. D. 
Taylor and James Whitlock. 

fThis pithy similitude is here reproduced from childish memory, when the 
father of the writer read Mr. Hill's message to a select coterie of listeners 
among whom he was an attentive one. 



424 Waff's Point. 

worth, who then came to Chicago and began his eventfnl career 
where Mr. Calhoun left oli' as a journalist. The paper was con- 
tinued under the same name by Mr. Wentworth, of which more 
will be said in its appropriate place. 

For more than twelve years previous to this time, the fork of 
the river then known by the name of Woltf 's Point (so named 
after an Indian chief) was the centre of Chicago attractions. 
Here stood the old Miller house, on the north side, erected by 
Alexander Kobinson"^ in 1S20. To him it Nvas a palace, where he 
entertained not only his Indian friends, but such white persons as 
wished to secure Indian trade by the distribution of presents 
among them. Mr. Eobinson was early in the employ of Conant 
and Mack as an Indian trader on Fox river, and afterwards eni- 
plo3'ed in the same service by Mr. Lawton, on the Desplaiues. 
He spoke both the English and Pottawatomie languages with 
ease, and on conventional occasions acted as interpreter. 
. It is not known at what time he disposed of his house at the 
fork, but it is known that in 1S32 Mr. Samuel Miller kept tavern 
here — the same who had married Elizabeth Kinzie, the third child 
of Jolm Kinzie, by Margaret, his tirst wife. She died at this 
house in Auijust, 1832. The oriirinal buildino- was made of loo-s, 
but afterwards covered with weather-boards, to give it the ap]->ear- 
ance of a frame liouse. But even at this earlv dav the whole 
structure was in a state of decay, especially the roof, as will be 
seen by the accompanying picture. It had before this date served 
as church, schoolhouse and private residence. 

On the west bank of the river, at the immediate junction of 
the two branches, was a tavern kept by Elijah "Wentworth in 
1833. This was at the time the model hotel of the town. 

Robert A. Kinzie had a store, in 1832, where the MenashaAVood- 
en TVaro Co. now is. on the west bank of the river. Thomas Cook 
then lived immediatlv west of the Green Tree, followino; the oc- 
cupatiou of teamster. He is Still living at liis home, in Lyons. 
The Green Tree is still standing, being the northeast corner of 
Lake and Canal streets. It was built by John H. Kinzie, and is 
the oldest buildino: in the citv at the present dav. For mauv 
years it has been known as the Lake Street House, but it is now 
a common saloon and private dwelling. Immediately east of this 
place James Kinzie kept a store in 1835, where he drove a thriv- 
ino: trade with Indians and new comers. Alexander Robinson's 

*Mr. Robinson's father was a Canadian voya.c-enr. of Scottish descent, in Ihe 
employ of a fiu- company, and his mother a Pottawatomie woman. He was 
lired to his father's occupation, and became a nsetul man in his sphere, as well 
as a true friend to the Indians, for which cause he rose to the position of princi- 
pal chief of the Pottawatomies, and remained such till their removal, in 1835. 



Alexander liohinson. 425 

seooiiJ residence was situated between Lake and Kandolpli streets, 
on the west side. His place was generally lively with Indians, 
in the declining; glories of their latter days in Chicago. Groups 
oH blanketed squaws, with their pappooses slung on their backs, 
in birch bark pockets, and an equal number of braves, dedaubed 
•svith paint and ornamented with feathers, hung around his doors 
in listless dalliance, while among them a few white drummers 
might sometimes be seen distributing free whiskey to secure 
their trade. A few hours' boisterous vellino- and a war-dance 
would wind up the scene, and with the small hours of moru- 
ing tranquility would be restored. 

It may appear strange to some that a man of Mr. Eoblnson's 
integrity and reputation for excellence in those qualifications 
which make up the character of tlie model citizen, should inter- 
mingle and associate with the low class of Indians that came and 
went freely to and from liis house, and for this apparent incon- 
sistency history ought to make an apology in his behalf; not on 
his individual account, but because he was one of but a small 
number left who represented the once lofty virtues of his race in 
their purer and happier days, and who, after a hundred and fifty 
3'ears' occupation of Chicago in company with the French, were 
now taking their leave forever of this place so dear to tliem. 

" A man's a man for a' that," 
was a sentiment of which Robinson felt the true force. No one 
could be too low to become a recipient of his favor, and no one 
60 high in his estimation as to be unapproachable through the 
common forms of respect. Being half Indian, and having a wife 
of the same race, lie was shut out from civilized societv sociallv. 
and to have cut loose from the Indians would have left iiim with- 
out intlence, and alone in the w^orld. This same principle is not 
unfre(|uently seen now-a-days when a partisan politician in de- 
fense of some dogma essential to secure public spoils, receives on 
terms of social equality persons far beneath his station, and Ilob- 
inson was more justifiable than these, because his motive was not a 
selfish one, but the result of an inevitable destiny. In 1833 ]\tr. , 
Philo Carpenter ]n-escnted the temperance pledge to him (the 
first, says Mr. Carpenter to the wi-iter, that was ever drawn up in 
Chicago). After a moment's reflection he signed it, at the same 
time pro-ving the sincerity of his resolution by drawing a flask of 
whisky from his pocket and emptying its contents on the ground. 
It is not known how long he held his resolution, but he never 
was a druidcard. 

The removal of his tribe was a turning point in his life. The 
issue now came directly to him which to choose — an Indian or a 
civilized life. After weighing the matter, in consideration of his 



426 Alexander Robinson. 

children's best good, be chose the latter, not without painful emo- 
tions on his part, and sore disappointment on the part of his 
tribe. Soon after their removal he moved to his reservation on 
the Desplaines river, and became a farmer highly esteemed by 
all who knew liim. His wife was equall}' exemplary in her walk 
in life, and afforded one of the many proofs that the pure Indian 
is possessed of high virtues wlien circumstances favor tlieir 
growth, which is all that can be said of any one. His daughter 
Cynthia, the wife of Mr. Cooney, is now a resident of Chicago, 
to which place the family recently came, for the laudable purpose 
of educating their children. From her the writer has learned 
that her father came to Chicago in 1806, and henceforward made 
it his home till he retired to his reservation on the Desplaines. 
He was not present at the massacre of 1S13, but on hearing of it 
returned in time to unite with the Sauganash and r)hu'k Par- 
tridge to save the lives of the jirisoners, and when his own life- 
was threatened for his courageous interposition to this end. Says 
his daughter: " He told the would-be assassins that they might 
destroy the lohite hlood in him, hut must not touch th<' Indimi.^*' 
This dilemma, with its complex issue, helped to turn the scale iii 
favor of the prisoners, and when the issue was settl(>d, he took 
Mr. and Mrs. Helm under his charge and rowed them in his ca- 
noe around the extremity of Lake Michigan and along its eastern 
shore to Mackinaw, lie lived to see the great fire of 1871, and 
as he beheld its desolations from Lake street bridge, he gave a 
lusty whoop, and exclaimed that he once more saw the open prai- 
rie there as in the old days of his own prime. He died the next 
year, April 19th,. 1872, at the advanced age of 110 years, accord- 
ing to Robert Kinzie's estimate, who says that he was born be- 
fore his father, John Kenzie. Some others set his age at 105^ 
but all agree as to his wonderful longevity; and no one chal- 
lenges his record for uprightness, hospitality and benevolence. 

An equally noble s])ecimen of an upright man w^as Shabonee» 
whose eulogy has been told by Col. Gnrdon S. Hubbard, in a. 
pamphlet ]»ublished by the Chicago Historical Society.* 

In addition to Mr. Ilubbai-d's voucher as to the integrity of 
Shabonee, the following bit of his history from Chicago's well 
known citizen, Wm. Ilickling, Esq., is only a just tribute to the 

*" I cannot close," says Mr. Hubbard, "Without adding' my testimony to 
that of Mr. Hicklings, regarding the character and services of that noble Indian 
Chief, Shabonee. t 

From my first acquaintance with him, which began in the foil of 1818, to hi» 
death I was impressed with the nobleness of his character. Physically he was 
as fine a specimen of a man as I ever saw; tall, well proportioned, sti-ong and 

t His name has been speUed in two ways by his biographers. 



Shabonee, 4:'2,7 

memory of him whose remains now honor our soil, and wliose 
life-size portrait is treasured in grateful memory by the Chicaga 
Historial society. * 

The same treaty which gave to Caldwell, Robinson and others 
of our Indians and half-breeds, their reservations of land, also 
gave two sections to Shal)onee. This he desired to be so located 
that it would include his old honie and council-house in the 
grove before mentioned. By direction of Major Langham, then 
Surveyor-General of Illinois and Missouri, a survey and plat of 
the reservation was made by a Deputy Surveyor, and Shabonee 
fondly hoped that the house which he and his family had occu- 
pied for so many years was secured to him and them forever. I 
believe that in all the other reservations of land granted by the 
aforementioned treaty, that all the parties thereto, having such 
reservations, enjoyed them in fee, and only required the consent 
of, and signature of the President of the United States, in order 
to pass a good title to parties purchasing such reserved lands. 
Why Shabonee's case should differ from all the rest I could nevor 
deterinine. At any rate, when the survey of the public land& 
lying north of the old Indian boundary line was ordered by the 
Land Department to be made, the Deputy Surveyor had instruc- 
tions to ignore the previous survey of the reservations^ and 
include the lands thereon contained in the regular section lines of 
the United States survey, and during the absence of ])oor old' 
Shabonee and his family in Kansas, these lauds were sold by pub- 
active, with a face expressing great strength of mind and goodness of heart. 
Had he been favored with the advantages of education, he might liave com- 
manded a high position among the men of his day. He was remarkable for his 
integrity, of a generous and forgiving nature, always hospitable, and until his 
return from the west, a strictly temperate man, not only abstaining himself 
from all intoxicating liquors, but influencing his people to do the same. He- 
was ever a friend to the white settlers, and should be held by them in grateful 
remembrance. He had an uncommonly retentive memory, and a perfect knowl- 
edge of this western country. He would readily draw on the sand or a bed of 
ashes, quite a correct map of the whole district from the lakes to the Missouri 
river, giving general courses of rivers, designafing towns and places of notori- 
ety, even though he had never seen them. * * * It ought to be a matter of 
regret and mortification to us all that our government so wronged this mau 
(who so often periled his own life to save those of the whites), by withholding- 
from him the title to the land granted him under a solenm treaty. The com- 
missioners representing our government having given him their pledge that the 
land allotted him by the Pottawatomie nation should be guaranteed to him by 
our government, and he protected in its ownership. He never sold his right to 
the land, but by force was driven from it, when he returned from the west to- 
take possession and found that our government disregarded his rights and 
sold it." 

*This portrait was painted from life by Mr. P. B. Young, of Rome, N. Y. It 
was presented to the society by Mr. Cyrus F. Miller, of Rockford, at which place- 
it was painted in 1840. 



428 Shalonee. 

lie sale at Dixon. The home of the old Chief and his family 
passed into other hands, strangers to him, and in answer to an 
-appeal made at Washington in Shabonee's behalf, the Commis- 
sioner of the General Land Department, in answer, said that 
-Shabonee had forfeited and lost his title to the lands hy removing 
■away from them. 

In 1837 Shabonee was notified by the Indian Agent, that by 
the terms of the late treaty, all members of his band, with the 
exception of those of his own family, mnst remove to their new 
reservations in "Western Missonri. The parting with so many of 
those with whom he so long had been associated, he could not 
■endure, so he resolved with all his famih^ to accompany them to 
their new homes. In the fall of the year the whole tribe, some 
130 in number, reached the reservation in safety; but no sooner 
liad Shabonee and his family reached their lodges in their new 
homes than new troubles began. The Sauks and Foxes, unfortu- 
nately, had their new reservations in close proximity to that of 
the Pottawattomies and Ottawas. The well-known hostility a few 
years previous of Shabonee to Black Hawk, and the part which 
the Ottawas took against him and his followers in the war which 
followed, were still tresh in the mind of the individual Sauk leader, 
and made enemies of two noted braves who, at an earlier period 
-of their career, had for so many years been fighting side by side 
under the eye of their leader Tecumseh. The warfare against 
:Shabonee and his family resulted in the murder of his eldest son 
And a nephew, Avho were killed soon after their arrival in Western 
Missouri. The old Chief Shabonee narrowly escaped with his 
life from the vengeance of his foes. This caused him and his 
family to return to Illinois in about one year after having left it. 
From this time until in 1849, Shabonee and his family, some 20 
to 25 in number, lived at the Grove in peace and quietness with 
the white neighbors surrounding them. By this time the Potta- 
wattomies and Ottawas had been again removed to a new reser- 
vation granted them in Kansas, and Shabonee again, with his 
family, left their old homes in Illinois, to join their red brethren 
in the new one to be occupied. He remained there with his old 
friends and tribe, some three years, then again with his family, 
retraced their steps back to their old home in the Illinois grove, 
only to find his village and lands in the possession of strangers; 
the old home he and his family had occupied for more than 40 
years, w^as lost to him forever. When he fully realized his forlorn 
situation, it is said that the old warrior who probably had scarcely 
•ever before shed a tear, here " wept like a child." But his cup of 
misery was not yet full. An unfeeling brute, the new owner of 
the land upon which on his return Shabonee and his family 



Shahonee, 4^2^ 

encamped, cursed the poor old man for havini^ cut a few lod^e- 
poles on what he thouglit was his own property, and perempto- 
rily ordered him and his family to leave the Grove. This they 
did, and it is said that Shabonee never visited it again. A few- 
friends, realizing the destitute situation in which the poor old 
Chief and his iamily were placed, purchased for him a small 
tract of twenty acres of timber land on the Mazon Creek, a 
short distance south of Morris, in this State. The situation of 
the land and its surroundings wei'e of a character to suit the In- 
dians. The land was fenced in, a small spot broken up for tillage, 
and a double log cabin built for then. Here in a semi-state of 
poverty and wretchedness, the old Chief and part of his family 
lived, most of the time in wigwams or tents, using the house for 
storage purposes and as a barn. 

Shabonee died July 27, 1859, aged about 83 years. He was 
buried in the county of Grundy,and be it said to the shame of the 
white men, no memorial stone, nothing but a piece of board stuck 
in the ground, shows the spot, where lies the remains of the best 
and truest Indian friend which the early settlers of Northern Illi- 
nois had in the day of their tribulation. He was not much of 
an orator, yet his words of wisdom always had their weight in 
council deliberations. Until quite late in life (after his return 
from the West in 1838), he was remarkably temperate in his- 
habits, scarcely ever tasting of the " fire-water," that great enemy 
of his race. No doubt his long association with Tecumseh,. 
who also was remarkably temperate in his habits, had its in- 
fluence upon the mind and character of Shabonee. It is well 
known that Tecumseh, both by precept and example, ever tried 
to impress on the minds of his red brethren, that most of the 
unnumbered woes which had been fastened upon their race were 
in the main attributable to their inordinate love of whiskey, and 
the usual debaucheries following its use. Shabonee, in another 
trait of his character, showed what influence had been made upon 
it by the teachings of his model leader Tecumseh, viz.: his hu- 
manity always shown and protection from indiscriminate slaugh- 
ter afforded to the unfortunate captives of war who fell into his 
iiands. This is attested to by Caldwell in the document before 
us. 

Surrounded by white neighbors, and almost in daily contact 
with civilized man, yet this contact failed to produce good results. 
On the contrary, that so-called civilized man too otten tempted 
the poor old Indian to indulge in a too liberal use of the accursed 
"fire-water," which generally left him in a state of maudlin 
helplessness, pitiable to behold. Let us throw a veil over his few 
faults, and remember his many virtues." 



430 Bl^tek Partridge. 

Black Partridge, whose career as a chief preceded that of Sha»- 
bonee, was treated like an enemy by the whites, liis village being 
burned bv them diiriiio; an invasion of central Illinois in 1S12, 
as told in a foregoing chapter. But a few months before this 
wanton act of hostility, to justify which history tails to lind 
any provocation, this chief had used his utmost endeavoi*s to 
prevent his tribe from making war upon the garrison of Fort 
JDearborn, and failing in this purpose, lie gave due warning to 
Captain Heald of the irrepressible hostility of the Indians. 
After the massacre, he co-operated with Billy Caldwell to save 
the lives of all the prisoners, and procure for them a safe passage 
to the British lines. To omit a record of the ill-requited services 
of these chiefs, who represented the native virtues of their race, 
would be unjust to their memory, besides losing an opportunity 
to bring to light the benevolent bent of the mind, as exemplitied 
in these children of nature. 

Of all people known to history, the Indians are the best subjects 
of whom to study the iirst elements of mental philosophy, because 
their minds were nntrammeled by any other intluence except 
what was inherited from nature, which cannot be said of any of the 
ancient nations of savages in the old world. IS^o penetration could 
measure from the wooden immobility of his face tlie depths of 
his subtlety as an enemy; and where in civilized society shall we 
find his match in self-sacrilice, when, as a captive, he returns to 
his enemies on a parole of honor, with an almost certainty that 
he will be executed. 

Numerous instances of this have occurred in their more heroic 
age, but one has recently occurred, a living witness of whicli 
now lives in Chicago. Anions: the victims of the Indian Creek 
massacre in the Black Hawk war was a family named Beresford. 
After the peace, two young Indians were identitied as the perpe- 
trators of the crime, and indicted by the grand jur}- of LaSalle 
■county and placed in the custody of Mr. George E. 'V\"alker, of 
Ottawa, (sheriff.) Soon after, the tribe to which these indicted 
Indians belonged were removed to the Missouri, Mr. AValker 
allowino: the allesred criminals to iro with them, under a voucher 
that thev should return to be tried, and so much conndence did 
he place in their honor, that lie signed their bail-bond. Six 
months later their trial came, and Mr. AA^alker went alone after 
them, and they voluntarily returned to Ottawa in his custody 
for trial, expecting to be executed, but they were cleared for 
want of positive evidence.* Let us not forget the griefs the 
Indians liave suffered at the hands of our apostates of civiliza- 

* Ottawa Free Trader, November 17th, 1S74. Mr. Walker died in November, 
1874, at the residence of his son in Chicago, No. 34 Indiana Ave. 



Chicago in 1834. 431 

tion, and reineraber that tlieir condiajn veuiieauce was measured 
out to offset these abuses. Never hlame ayi Ijullan.for anything 
he dotfi to a white man, was a frontier proverb, not without some 
shade of justice. 

The foilowing from J. M. Peck's Gazeteer, of Illinois, is copied 
as the best known authorit}, to show what Chicago "was at that 
time. No official census had tlien been taken, and his statement as 
to the population is an estimate too high in the opinion of 
old settlers. Mr. "Williams' estimate for the year before was 200, 
it will be remembered. 

"GAZETTEER OF ILLINOIS." 
Pithlishcd b;/ R. Goudy, JacksonvUh, 183i. 

Chicagfo. the seat of justice for Cook county, is situated on a river or bay of 
the same name, at the junction of north and south branches, and from one-haJf 
mile to a mile from Lake Michigan. 

The town is beautifully situated on level ground, but sufficiently elevated 
above the highest, floods, and on both sides of the river. It contains tlu-ee 
houses for public worship, an academy, an infant and other schools, twenty-five 
or thirty-five stores, many of them doing large business, several taverns, mechiui- 
ics of various kinds, a printing office which publishes the " Chicago Democrat,^'' 
and ten or twelve hundred inhabitants. 

Its growth, even for western towns, has been unusually rapid, as two yeara 
since it contained five stores and 2o0 inhabitants. 

The United States government is constructing a harbor at the mouth of the 
'Chicago, by cutting a wide and deep channel through a sand-bai- a*' its mouth, 
and constructing piei"S to extend into the lake, beyond the action of the wave3 
upon the bar. $25,000.00 were expended last ye.ir for this purpose, and the 
present Congress has appropriate 1 an additional sum of $-W.SUl, which, added 
to the previous appropriation, makes the sum of the original estimate. 

When this work is completed, the Chicago will form one of the best harbors 
for steamboats, schooners, and other craft in all the lake regions. Steamboats 
and schooners will pass along a deep natural canal through the center of the 
upper part of the town, with the greatest convenience. 

These facilities, the natural position of the place, the enterprise and capital 
that will concentrate here with favorable prospects for health, must soon make 
this place the emporium of trade and business for all the northern country. 

Rack of the town towards the DesPIaines river, is a fertile prairie, and for 
the first three or four miles elevated and dry. 

Along the north branch of the Chicago, and the lake shore are extensive 
bodies of fine timber. White pine in small quantities is obtained on the Cala- 
mic, at the south end of the lake 15 miles distant. Large quantities exist in the 
regions towai'ds Green Bay. from which lumber in any quantities is obtained 
and conveyed by sMpping to Chicago. Yellow poplar boards and planks are 
biought across the lake trom the St. .Toseph's river. 

The mail, in post-coaches from Detroit, arrives here semi-weekly, and departs 
for Galena, for Springfield, Alton and St. Louis, and for Dannlle and Vin- 
<ennes. 

The United States government owns a strip of elevated ground between the 
town and lake, about half a mile in width, on which Fort Pearborn and the 
light-houses are situated. Here are stationed about. 100 United States troops, 
including officers, as a check upon the Indians in the adjacent territoiy. As 
the title to the Indian lands in the northern part of Illinois and the adjomiug 
territory, as far as Green Bay, is extinguished by the treaty of September. 18 'o, 
and the Indians are to be removed west of the Mississippi, this garrison will 
«oon be broken up, and the town to be extended to the lake shore. 



432 First Wharjing Lease. 

Such was the eagerness to obtain property in this place, that the school sec- 
tion adjacent to the town plat, after reserving twelve acres, was sold in small 
lots last OctoU'r, for $:-i8,705. The money was loaned out at 10 and 12 per cent, 
interest, and tiie avails applied to the support of schools in the town. Chicago 
is situated on section nine, township thirty-nine north, in range fourteen, east 
of the third principal meridian. 

Chicago, the stream or bay on which the town of Chicago is situated. It is 
made by North and South branches, which form a junction in the upper part 
of the town, about three-fourths of a mile from the lake. The Chicago resem- 
bles a vast canal, from fifty to seventy-five yards wide, and from fifteen to 
twenty-five feet deep. Northerly and easterly winds throw the cool waters oi 
the lake into this channel, and raise it about three feet. 

North Branch, which is the largest, rises a short distance above the boundary 
line, and near the lake, and runs parallel with the lake shore a southerly course, 
and is navigable for small boats. Its banks are well timbered and the land 
fertile. 

South Branch rises in an opposite direction in the prairies towards the Saga- 
naskee swamp, runs a northern direction about twenty miles, and forms a junc- 
tion with the North branch in the town of Chicago. The timber is rather scarce 
on the South branch." 

The following gentlemen were trustees of the town of Chicago in 1835, as 
appears from the lease of a wharfing lot 60x40 feet on the river, immediately 
west of Clark street bridge. Hiram Hugunin, George W. Dole, Samuel Jack- 
son. Eli. B. Williams, Francis C. Sherman, James Kinzie, Alexander Lloyd, 
Walter Kimball and Bryan Kmg, trustees, leased said lot to L. Harmon, H. G. 
Loorais and D. Harmon. The terms of the lease were $500.00 cash down, and 
$1,500.00 payable in equal installments of one, two and three years, with interest 
at six per cent, per annum. After which the lesses were to pay an annual rental 
of one barley corn, on the 23d day of November. These were the terms on which 
the wharfing lots were first leased, but subsequently they were modified to suit a 
more modern style of business, when the paym^nit of the annual barley corn, (a 
form inherited from old English usages) was no longer demanded. One of these 
old leases is now in the hands of Mr. G. F. Rumsey. 

The same year a statement appears in the Democrat of November 25th, esti- 
mating the population of Chicago at 3265, inhabitants. This may be set down 
as the first year of that speculative excitement for which Chicago has ever since 
been remarkable. The receipts at the land office which was opened this year, 
exceeded half a million dollar's for the first six months. 

The following has been copied from Prof. E. Colbert's Histor- 
ical notes of Chicago, which have been compiled with his accus- 
tomed care, and are here inserted by permission from him: 

" During the summer of 1833 not less than 160 frame houses were erected, and 
the number of stores was increased from five or six to 25. Among the new build- 
ings was the Green Tree Tavern, by J. H. Kinzie, which was the first structure 
ever erected in the place for that purpose; its predecessors were simply pri- 
vate residences, thrown open to the public for a consideration. 

The year 1834 witnessed the establishment of closer commercial relations with 
other points east and west. The second week in April a schooner arrived from 
St. Joseph, and two cleared for the same port. On the 30th of the same month 
the corporation organ announced that emigration had fairly set in, as more than 
a hundred persons had arrived by boat and otherwise during the preceding ten 
days. On the 4th of June the Democrat announced that arrangements had 
been made by the proprietors of the steamboats on Lake Erie, whereby Chicago 
would be visited by a steamboat once a week till the 25th of August. "On Satur- 
day, July 11th, the schooner Illinois, the first large vessel that ever entered the 
river, sailed into the harbor amid great acclamations, the sand having been 
washed away by the freshet of the spring previous. In its issue of September 
3d, the paper stated that 150 vessels had discharged their cargoes at the port of 




■>' 









^. 







Chicago in 1835. ^33 

Chicago since the 20th of April preceding-. The total number of votes polled in 
the -whole of Cook county this year was 528. The poll-list of Chicago had in- 
creased to 111, out of a popu atiou of 400, besides l2U0 soldiers in the fort. It is 
noteworthy that not less than 13 of the 111 were candidates for office at the 
August election. 

In the spring of 1834, a stage communication was opened up between Chicago 
and the country to the westward, by means of J. T. Temple's line for St. Louis. 
The route to Ottawa was piloted out by John D. Caton, who had pn^viously Ix-'en 
over the unmarked road on horseback. A bitter storm sprung up, and the 
driver was obliged to resign his post; he died afterward from that day's 
exposure to the cold. Mr. Caton, afterward Chief .Tustice of the Supr(>me tlourt 
of the State, took th(> stage through to Ottawa, where a better system of roads 
b^egan, the first settlement of the State having been from the southward, as 
a ready stated. 

A large black beiir was seen on the morning of October fitli, in a strip of tim- 
ber on the corner of Market and Jackson streets, almost exactly on the spot 
where the armory was altcrward built. He was shot; then the citizens got up a 
grand wolf hunt in the same neighborhood, and kill(>d not h'ss than forty of 
those animals before niglitfall. It was just at this i)oint, thirty-seven years 
after, almost to a day, that the flames leaped a.cro-s the river from the West 
Division, and thence swept northward to the limits of the city. 

In this year a draw-bridge was built across the river at Dearborn street; 
active measures were taken to prevent the spread of the cholera, and a commit- 
tee was authorized to buUd a cholera hospital outside the town if the disease 
should make it appearance; the first Sunday liquor law was passed (Septfraber 
1st); the large sum of forty dollars was iniid for repairing bridgi'S; and the town 
was <livided into four wards, by an ordinance intendi'd to i>revent fires. Prior 
to this year all the stores were located on South Water street — indeed, Lake 
street, and all tb.e streets southward of it, only existed on i)aper. In the autumn 
of 1834. Thomas Church erected a store on Lake street, which was soon the 
busiest in the whole town. The packing statistics of the year show that Mr. 
Clybounie packed (iUO cattle, and more than 3, 000 hogs; whi'li; Messrs. Newberry 
& Dole sliiughtered some 400 cattle and 1,400 hogs in a packuig iiouse of their 
own, recently built on the south branch. The siuue year Gurdon S. Hubbard 
packed 5,000 hogs, on the corner of Lake and La'^'alle streets. 

The first water works of the future city was estalilished aliout this time, the 
sum of !?95.50 being paid for the digging, stoning, and stone of a well, in Kinzie's 
addition, on the north side. 

In 1835 the hoti'l acconnnodations of the year increased in proportion to the 
population. Besides tlie Green Tree Hotel, on the corner of Lake and Canal 
streets, there were now three others. The Treniont House had b^eu erected a 
year previously, on the noi-thwest corner of Lake and Dearliorn, and the loungers 
of that day used to stnnd on its steps and shoot tin.' dui-ks on the river, or on the 
slough that lay before the door. Starr Foot was the first landlord, but he 
speedily gave way to Ira Couch, under whose management the Tremont socni 
became head-quarters for the travelers and speculators with which the towTi 
abounded. It was burned down in 18;VJ, in the second lire that had visited the 
place, the first having occurred in 18:>4. The Graves (log) tavern stood nearly 
opposite the Tremont, and fhe Sauanash Hotel offered accommodations for man 
and beast, on the corner of Market and Lake streets, the spot where Lincoln 
was nominated in 1800 for the presidency. At that date the grove of timber 
along the east xh\c, of the south -branch was still undisturbed, the north division 
was thickly studded with trees, a few pines stood on the lake shore south of the 
harbor, the timber being thickest near the rivci-, and a great pine tree stood near 
the foot of Randolph street. 

By an act of the Legislature, approved February 11, 1853. !i.ll the land east of 
State street, from Twelfth stre(!t to Chicago avenue, was included within the 
town lines; except that it was provided th;it the Fort Dearborn reservaliun, lying 
between Madison street and the river, should not belong to the town till vacated 
by the United States. 



434 Seal of Chicago. 

In this year (June) an attempt was made to borrow money on the credit of the 
town. The tivasurer was authorized to borrow f'J.OOO. at not more than ten per 
cent, inteivs^t. and payable in twelve months. He ivsigned rather than face tat» 
novel i-espousibility. and the stivet commissioner followed suit. 

In this year the ChicaiTo Atthrican entered the field to compete with the Demo-, 
crut tor the advertisiuir patronaice of the town and iis citizens. 

Two additional buiUlinirs were placed in the court house square in ISoo — a 
small brick edifice on the northeast corner, for the use of the aninty officers and 
the safe keepinir of the records, and an eno^ine-house, costing ^Ji^O, the hitter 
not beinsr finished till the following year. The first fire engine wa-s bought 
December lOth. of Messrs. Hubbani and Co., for the sum of ^S9t>.3S, and a 
second ordei-ed. The first fiiv-engine company wtt^ org-.uiized two days after- 
wards. 

On the 14th of Xoveml>er the Board of ToAvn Ti'ustees ivsolved to sell the 
leases of the wharting privileges in the town for the term of 999 years, binding 
the board to dredge tlie river to the depth of ten feet at least, within four years 
from the s;vle, and the lessees of the privileges being bound to erect good docks, 
five feet wide and three feet above the water, within two yeai-s from the date of 
the lease. The sale of those immensely valuable privileges took place on the 
26th of November. lS^:io, at the store of Messi-s. Jones, King \- Co.. and it may 
be inteivstiug to remember now the '"minimum prices "" at wh ohownei-s of lots 
fronting the river had the privilege of buying. On South Water street theprice 
was #'J5 per front foot; on Xorth Water street. $1S.T5 per front foot; on West 
Water street f li^ per front foot. The men who got rich in buying such prop- 
erty, at such prices, deserve no credit for sp<vulative ability. But the board, on 
the l"^th of November. IS^m. ottered still further assistance in their new school of 
" affluence made easy." They then resolved that they would not l>e bound to 
dredge the river, in making leases on Xortii Water street, consequently they 
lowered the minimum figure t<> ^15 i^ier front foot, in nart, and $S.50 per front foot 
on the remainder of the line. To aid in paying for lea^fes at this rate, the board 
took secured notes for tluve and six months, for the first payment of one qu;vr- 
ter of the price, and gave thive years in which to pay otf the balance. The sale 
was three times ^x">stponed. and while waiting for a sale all the picked lots 
seemed to have been taken at a mininunu price. When the rt'miut' did take 
place, only six lots remained to Iv sold, and but one of these found a puivh;\ser. 
at $"-!6 per front foot. The city will have the right to resume possession of these 
valuable lots on the "JiHh day of November. A.D. 'iS^U. The "privileges" thus 
thrown away by a lot of men who ought to have known better, sul>sequentiy 
became matter of much anxious legisfation on the part of the board, and with 
the s;ile of the magnificent school lands, made Octooer '21, IS^^, on a petition 
signed by twenty-three citizens, form the two great soros in the history of the 
•city. Both wei-e lit ,ni\ll}- '* sold for a mere song."' The school-lands, sold for 
^^>S,Slv"S. have since Wen worth nearly fit\v millions. 

The ofiicial seal was adopted in Novembor, lS;>o — a spread-eagle having three 
ai-rows in his cla\vs, and the words " United States of America " surK)unding 
the same." 

Aiiioiiii' other ambitions developed in Cliieago as a town, was 
slup-building-. and on the ISth of May, lSot>. the sloop Clarissa 
slid from her stocks into the river, amidst the hnzzas of a hirire 
assemblage gathered there to celebrate the event. But rlie great 
attraction of the year was the celebration of tnruing the tirst sod 
for the canal excavation, which is told as follows by Mr. John L. 
Wilson, who was an eye witness: 

"The beginning of the canal was celebrated July 4th. lS3ti, by 
uearlv the whole Vfllage of Chicago goiuir up to P»ridireport 
on the small steamer George W, l>oie, towing two schooners. 



Chicago in 1830. 435 

Doctor "W^ni. B. Egau delivered the address on this most auspicious 
«vent, aud the Hon. Theophihis AV. Sniitli began the '* ditch" 
by throwing out the tirst shovel lull of earth. The celebration 
of " the dav we celebrate " then bcijan, and a rioht fovous one 
it was, as the Canal Bill had struggled long in its passage through 
the Legislature, and the probability of ever having a railroad to 
or from Chicago was hardly dreamed of. On arranging and 
Starting the " tlotilla '' homeward bound, a squad of men on the 
banks of the narrow river, without any cause, began throwing 
stones into the steamer, breaking ♦the cabin windows, and injm-- 
ing one or two ladies, and keepino- up the fusilade until a de- 
tachment of a dozen or more " old settlers " jumped ashore, 
(or rather into the shallow water), and charged anmng them. 
Those that I now remember wore John IT. and Kobert A. Kiuzie, 
Stephen F. Gale, John and Eichard L. "Wilson. Henry G. Hub- 
bard. Gurdon S. Hubbard, Sr., James B. Campbell, Aslivel fc^teele, 
S. B. Cobb, Mark Beaubien and others. There were none of the 
€inemy sfirnding as soon. as they could be reached. The wea]>ons 
used were only those brought into action in the ' manly art of 
self-defense,' but they proved exceedingly etiicient. And thus 
ended the 'glorious 4th ' of July, 1836." *' 

The year 1830 closes the career of Chicago as a toM-n, the 
next year being her tirst as a city. The following is her com- 
mercial record till that time: 

YEAR. XO. VESSHLS ARKIVED. Tt>NXAGE. 

1833 4 700 

1834 ] 70 5.000 

1835 :250 22,500 

1830 450 60,000 

The above list of arrivals of vessels, especially in IS^U. consisted hu-aely of 
three small schoonei-s running to and from St. Joseph to carrj' passengers and 
flour. The arrivals, previous to 18:>3, consisted Hrst of the schooner Tracy, 
■which brought the officers to build the fort in ISOo, after which an annual arrival 
of supplies from the fort came, during the time there was a garrison at the 
fort. The steamboat "William Penn was used for this purpose in lS:-i2. S 
and 4. bringing supplies to Ft. Gratiot. Macinac. and Ft. Howard at the same 
time. Besides these channels of connnunication with the East, was a wagon 
track around the head of the lake, thence one braiicR running to Detroit, and 
another to Fort Wayne. This road ran along the beach, crossing the Calumet 
by means of a ferry which had been established June 7th, ISoO, by the county 
commissioners of Peoria county granting to Rev. Wm. Lee the right to keep the 
ferry, with a stipulated bill of charges for ferriage, as follows: I'JJj cents for a 
foot passenger; 2-r> cents foraniiui and horse; 87 ^.j.' cents for a wagon and one 
horse: 75 cents for a wagon and two hoi-ses, and ll.OO for a wagon and four 
horses. 

* ^fr. Wilson's recent contributions to the Chicago press have teemed with 
reminiscences of the early day here which pleasantly freshen the memories of 
earlv Chicago in the minds of manv thousands of its citizens. 



CHICAGO CHARTEEED AS A CITY. 



FIRST MAYOK ELECTED. 

The rear 1S36 hail been one of remarkable proj^perity to the lit- 
tle village ot" Chicago. Its population had grown to the astonish- 
ing nninber of 3820 (as estimated), from a beginning of about 
200 persons in ISoo. "Work on the canal had actually been 
begun and the harlxn- was in process of improvement, at. 
the expense of the general government. Land specula- 
tors were rapidly buying up the lands, and that system of 
real estate speculation, which has since this period presented 
such fascinations to the speculative capitalists of the country, 
was now inauijurated. Under these auspicious beiiinnino's, on 
the 26th of October the town board took the necessary steps 
to take upon themselves the forms of a city. The president of 
the board of trustees invited the inhabitants of each of the three 
districts of which the town was compcifcd, to select delegates to 
meet the board, to confer together on the expedienc}' of apply- 
ing to the legislature for a city charter. The meeting had place 
onthe 25th of November, and resulted in the appointment, by 
Eli B. ^\^illiams, the President of the board, of live delegates to 
draw up the charter in form for presentation. Their names- 
were Ebenezer Peek, J. D. Caton, T. AV. Smith, AVm. B. Ogden, 
and jS^athan IT. Bolles. On Pecember iHh, tiiis committee, 
through Mr. Peek, presented their charter to the board, and after 
some amendments it was adopted, and on the fourth of March, 
the next year, 1837, the legislature of Illinois passed the bill 
approving the charter, and Chicago took upon herself the forms 
of a city. The next move was to choose a mayor. The nuxterial 
for an able one was not wanting, but from its very excess the 
ditiiculty in making a choice was increased. Ilappilj there 
were no spoils at stake and no rings to covet them. 



Charter Election. 437 

The issue was defined by the two political ]iarties u-liich 
then divided the eomitrv on political economy. The whig party 
represented one and the Democratic party the other. And 
here it may be pertinent to say that the separate policies of the 
two partie> could not he accurately defined in theory so as to be 
well understood at this day, but practically the Whigs repre- 
sented a policy Avhich embraced a liberal system of banking, pro- 
tective tariffs, and an extensive system of public works, while 
the Democrats did not oppose this entirely, but professed to 
guard against excesses in their propagation. The most of them 
went for a metalic currency only, or paper convertible at the 
will of the holder. John H. Iviuzie was the AVhig candidate for 
mavor. ■ and AVm. J]. OirdiMi the Democratic. Savs Hon. 
John AVentworth: '• Moth were members of the old St. James 
Episcopal Chnirh, both men of we;dth for that time, and 
there was nothing in the character of either of the men to give 
■either one any advantage over the other. It was a fair statid-up 
fight between the AVhigs and Democrats. Men of each political 
]>arty wanted the city government to stand under its peculiar aus- 
pices." The contest was sharp and spirited, and great. care was 
taken to provide against illegal voting. Ytning AVentworth was 
<'hallengcd on tiie grounds of his youth, and M'as sworn before be- 
ing allowed to vote — a suspicion of the truth of which charge, 
lie humorously says, he has since oute^rown. 

Mr. Ogden received 461) votes and Mr. Kinzie 237, showing a 
large niajorit}- of the citizens of Chicago to be in favor of the 
-(k'mocratic policy of the country, at Mhich time, it is not too 
much to say, we were almost at a loss for any very vital issue. 
The total vote of the south division was 408, the north 204, and 
the west 97, an.d of the whole city 709. 



ENLARGEMENT OF CHICAGO BY WARDS AND CITY LIMITS. 

BV JOHN A. MOODY, CIIIKF CLKUK IX CITY CLEUK's OFFICE. 

In 1835, John II. Kinzie, Gurdon S. Hubbard, KbenezerGood- 
ricli, John K. Boyerand John S. C. Hogan were constituted by 
the legislature of Illinois a body ]iolitic and corporate to be 
known by the name of the "Trustees of the Town t>f Chicago." 
The jurisdiction of the town extended over all that district con- 
tained in sections nine and sixteen, north ami south fractional 
section ten and fractional section fifteen, in townshi]> 39, N. R. 
14 E. of the 3rd V. ]\r., except that }>ortion of fractional' section 
ten occupied by the United States, for military ]>uri>oses. The 
sict creating the town })rovided that the corporate powers and 



438 Wards— City Limits. 

duties should be vested in a board of nine trustees, after the first 
Monday of June, A. D. 1835, on whicli date the term of ottice of 
the above named gentlemen expired. In the year following, the 
system of water works of Chicago was instituted by the act in- 
corporating tlie Chicago Hydraulic Company. 

Two years after the incorooration of the town, on the tith of 
March, 1837, the legislature enacted that "the district of coun- 
try known as the east half of the southeast quarter of section) 
thirty-three, fractional section thirty-four, the east foui'th part of 
sections six, seven, eighteen and nineteen, all in township forty; 
also fractional section three, sections four, five, eight, nine, and 
fractional section ten, excepting the southwest fractional quarter of 
said section ten, occupied as a military post, until the same shall 
become private property, fractional section fifteen, sections six- 
teen, seventeen, twenty, twenty-one, and fractional section twenty- 
two, all in township thirty-nine, range fourteen, east of the third 
P. M. ; being in tlie county of Cook and State of Illinois, should 
be known as the city of Chicago." 

It is inq)Ossible to give the boundaries above fixed by streets. 
There is a manifest error in the copy of the act which is on file- 
in the ofiice of the city clerk. The maps show tliat the sections 
six, seven, eighteen and nineteen, above mentioned, are in town- 
ship thirty-nine instead of forty. 

The territory was divided into six wards; of which the 1st and 
2d were in the south, the 3d and 4th in the wxst, and the 5th- 
and Oth in the north divisions, respectively. The government, 
was vested in the mayor and twelve aldermen — two aldermeii: 
from each ward, except the third and fifth wards, which were en- 
titled to but one alderman each until the annual election for the 
year 1839. 

By the act of March 4, 1837, the school system of Chicago was 
first established; and by an act passed March 1, 1839, additional 
powers were granted the common council for establishing and 
maintaining schools. 

Within ten years from its incorporation, the new city felt that 
it did not contain territory enough, and that its original charter 
was insufiicient for its proper government. On Feb. 16, 1847, a 
supplementary act was passed extending the limits so as to in- 
clude all the territory bounded as follows: 

Beiiinnine: at the intersection of 22d street with the lake shore, 
thence west to Western avenue, thence north to North avenue, 
thence east to Sedgwick street, thence north to Fullerton avenue^ 
thence east to the lake, thence southward on the lake shore to the 
place of beginning. 

The city was also divided into nine wards of which the 1st, 2d» 



Wards— City Liiiuts. 439 

3rd and 4t]i were in the south division, the 5th and Oth in the 
west, and tlie 7th, 8tli and 9th in tlie north. 

The citj census taken in that year showed a popuhation.of 
16,859 persons. The vahiation of the real and personal estate 
was, $5,849,170; the amount of revenue raised by taxation 
$18,159,01, and the floating lialnlities $13,179,89. 

In 1851, the various acts affecting the city w^ere reduced into 
•one act, and additional powers were granted,. Init the bounda- 
ries of the city were not clianged. 

In 1858, the city was by act of the general assembly di\i(led into 
the divisions called nortli, south and west, the limits were also ex- 
tended so as to include witliin the city all of sections 27, 28, 29 
and 30, T. 39,]^. E. 14 E., also those parts of 31 and 32 T. 40, R. 
14, lying east of the north branch, and also the W.^ of Sec. 33, 
40, 14. 

This extension made 31st street the southern boundary. Western, 
avenue from 31st street to North avenue and the north branch 
from North avenue to Fullerton avenue the western boundaries, 
and North avenne and Fullerton avenue the northern boundaries. 

The jurisdiction of the city' was also extended over so much of 
the shore and bed of , the lake as lie within one mile east of frac- 
tional section 27. 

The number of the wards was not changed, the added territory 
being annexed to the 1st, 2d, ord, 4th, 5th and 7th wards. 

The citv census taken in 1853, showed a population of 60,<-!52. 
The valuation Avas $16,841,831.00, and the bonded debt, Sl89.r;70. 

In 1855 the sewerage system of Chicago was inaugurated by 
the creation of a board of sewerao^e commissioners, with such 
powers and duties as were deemed necessary to carry into elfect its 
objects. 

The amended city charter, approved Feb. 15, 1857, pro^-ided for 
the creation of an additional ward, the tenth, out of the territory 
in the West Division. 

By the revised charter of 1863, the city limits were extended so as 
to include all of township 39, north range 14 east of the 3i'd P. M., 
and all of sections 31, 32, 33 and fractional section 34, 40, 14, with 
so much of the waters and bed of Lake Michigan as lie within 
one mile of the shore, and east of the territory aforesaid. The 
street boundaries were Egan avenue (39th street) on the south, 
Western avenue on the west and Fullerton avenue on the north. 
The territory was divided into sixteen wards of which the 1st to 
the 5th inclusive were in the south, the 6th to the 12th inclusive 
in the west and the fou.i- remaining in the north division. Aijjain, 
in 1869, the <>:eneral asseuiblv extended the citv limits on the 
west so as to include within it the territory lying north of the II- 



440 Wards — City Limits. 

linois & Micliig-aii Canal, east of Crawford avenue and south of 
jS'ortli avenue. The same act divided the citj into twenty wards, 
of which six were hicated in the South Division, nine in the West 
Division and five in the North Division. The city then contain- 
ed an area of at least thirty-five square miles with a population 
of o06,605 persons, an assessed vahiation of $275,986,550.00 and 
a bonded indebtedness of over $11,000,000.00. 

In 1870 it levied a tax of $4,139,798.70. In 183T the tax levy 
was $5,905.15. 

Since 1869 there has been no territory added to the city. 

In 1875 the question whether the city should reori^anize under 
the general incorporation act, was submitted to a vote of the 
people, and was adopted by a vote of 11,714 for, to 10,281 
ag-ainst. 

Lest this vote may be taken as an indication of the number of 
voters in the city at that time, I desire to state here that at the 
last precediu": general election for mayor, 47,390 votes were cast. 

Under the provisions of the general incorporation law, the 
council divided the city into eighteen wards — live in the South 
Division, nine in the West Division, and four in the JSTorth Di- 
vision. 

By virtue of various amendments to the charter, the city gov- 
ernment was, at the time of reorganization, in the hands of many 
irresponsible boards. 

Under powers given by the new incorporation law, these boards 
were all abolished, and the departments governed by them re- 
established on ordiiumces passed by the city council. The ma- 
chinerv of the citv u'overnment is now more simple and less ex- 
pensive, considering the vastly greater business entrusted to it, 
than under any of the older charters. The mayor and aldermen 
practically control the entire city government. 

The \,2^\vCi\(m fer capita in 1837 was about 1.41; in 1847 about 
1.08; in 1857 about 6.73; in 1867 about 12.59; in 1877 about 
9.83. The highest rate was in 1873, which was about 15.27. 




5 



^ ■ 




G 


^ 


H- 


rt 


ts 


V 


> 


' 


-rt 


P3 


3> 


2 


td 


5s 


r- 


C> 




1) 


p:^ 


^ 
^ 


t^ 


?> 

V 


3 
re 




> 


» 


h-1 


>* 




> 










|.\ii> i 



a,-- — >a?- 




OFFICIAL RECORD OF FORT DEARBORN, 

TAKEN FROM THE RECORDS OP THE WAR DEPARTMENT AT WASHINGTON, BY 

HON. THOS. B. BRYAN. 



FORT DEARBORN, ILL. 

SXTLTATED AT CHICAGO, IlT, , WITHIN A FEW YAKDS OF LaKE MICHIGAN ; 

Lat. 41° bV N.; LoN. 87° 15^ W. 

Post established bv the U. S. forces in 1804. Ana;. 15, 1812, 
the garrison, under tlie command of Captain ISTathan Heald, 1st 
U. 8. Infantry, composed of 54 rei^nlar infantry, 12 militia-men, 
and 1 interpreter, was attacked by the Indians, and evacuated 
same day. The Indians numbered between 400 and 500, of 
whom 15 were rejjorted killed. The killed of the gai-rison w^ere 
Ensign Geo. Eowan,""' 1st Inf , Doctor J. Y. VanYoorliis,f Capt. 
Wells, interpreter, 24 enlisted men II. S. Inf., and 12 militia- 
men; 2 Avomen and 12 children were also killed. The wounded 
were Capt. j^athan Heald and Mr^. Heald. None others re- 
pt«rted. The next day, Aug. 16, 1812, it was destroyed by the 
Indians. Re-occupied about June, 1816, Captain Hezekiah Brad- 
ley, 3d Infantry, commanding. The troops continued in occupa- 
tion until October, 1823, when it was evacuated, and the post 
left in charge of the Indian Agent, and was re-occupied Oct. 3d, 
1828. Capt. Hezekiah Bradley, 3d Inf., commanded the post 
from June, 1816, to May, 181T; Bvt. Maj. D. Baker, 3d Inf., 
to June, 1820; Capt. Hezekiah Bradley, 3d Inf., to Jan '.y, 1821; 
Maj. Alex. Cumminirs, 3d Inf, to Oct., 1821; Lt. Col. J. McNeal' 
8d Inf., to Jul}^, 1823; Cajit. John Greene, 3d Inf., to Oct., 1823. 
Post not garrisoned from Oct., 1823, to Oct., 1828. 

*Hi.s name is spelled Konan in Wabiin. 

tSfielled Voorhees in Walnm. 

Acounling to the above otticial i-ecord the .attack preceded the evacuation. 
This v/as a mistake, according- to the acconnt of ever}' eye witness who has 
Written its lii-tory, of whom there are several. — Author. 

The followiiif,'' item is from AVm. Hickijnc^ Esq. : 

" At this present time there is standiny. frontinor on State, near the N. E. 
corner of J3.UI street, what appears to be a two-story frawc house; the body of 
this edifice is made of hewn timber which formerly formed a part of the officers' 

Snarters of Fort Dearborn (erected in ISlfi). Many years ago, the late Judg-e 
[eiiry Full(>r removed this buildiny from its old site, on the Fort reservation, to 
its pre.scnt locality; then modernized it by covering with sidiner and a new shin- 
gle I'oof. In another buildins: erected bj' Judge Fuller, No. 872 Michigan ave- 
nue, may be found an oaken window-frame inserted in the kitchen part of said 
building: this venerable relic vp'as also removed from the " officers' quarters" 
of the old Fort, after havin": done dnty there for some thirty years. It seems 
that the judge had a great liking for these old Fort Dearborn buildings, for he 
removed a portion of another log building belonging to the old Fort, converting 
the same into a stable on the rear of his property, No. 872 Michigan avenue. 
This old relic of the Fort he afterwards sold, and 1 understand the purchaser 
broke up the old timbers for firewood." 









O o 

<^ 
p 

O 



00 
00 



P3 

o 

H 

o 
o 

o 



S5 









*- 1. - o . ow 

c *-' — ^- o 
= ?.'- = = o a 

c > :i 1- ■/, 3 






O 

ft< • 
M 

B 

ce 

S 

s 

o 
O 



§! = ■ 



■/. ,^ 



a> 



-y] 



c . 

•— ^ :/: "t^ — -fc- -J 

::: -^ - • s "M 



h. - o 



C .C -H o 

C-: 3^. CO M . CO 

cc n cc cc * CO 

.— X — ' .— I 1— 



a : ; : : 



"3 



C 
O 

o 











«*: 




^- o. 




o o 




CM 




ES 








■:■--• 


o 


ci^ 




bo 


.^ 






t>r., . 












%■ -^ 3 


;2 


«i< 






Q 





o 
bo 



o o 



ci ?■? r? c* n ro 
c^ r^ :■; ci ?"> r"3 
sc x -rj A 'Jj -Xi 






bo- -J >>^ bo 






t£ ^-3 . *£ ^ ?^ . 

CC' CO fi ::o X"» CO - 

* '-« ."— ' "/. C: - . - - . i_- r- -" 






1= -- 

O 

Q^ < ft 



. i/ • -~ . 



-■trtr >»• 






^i^ 



CO 

ct- 

CC - 

•c -^ 
P-J I— 



eo rt rt -x CC ct 

- -. ct ro ft CO rO CI I 

- - J. -X." - 'f: -r.- 



Ci c: =^' ^i 



-"-. a 



C X 



" C >2 S c •_• ^ 60 bf 






■5' 



Wry-' "^-Jr-s 






.«■ 









ti . 



-■2 ■ ^ ? >. * 



■~'-=a— ■'■'^ 



iT = = s >j oT 



•^a '-t<Q'^<^ ^ 



5 c£: 






br_ 




" -t-^ — ■^ — 


— jj — 


^fe 








* 


lO >C — 


^;*^ i _;- 


OD ^ 
















. * J-i 




h!"' --SJ 




1? a 






^•_-<^ =.3, 


^5 




isn' sii^ 








^ 








•"■ .. 


c • si 






5 S - 








7 -r >> - 






„ 




SvaSi 


%t 





S ;£:=2 = 


3: 2-3.- 


^^ 




•^i-- ?r^ 


^-^.?J 


^2 


;f 


5^-<HcS!^ 


^=ss« 


^•4 


fi 


►j>-;^,'oh^h 


. : .*5 

>-5i-5<i-itn 



o 



£0* 



<f^ 






HJl-H o 

mgo 



Last of Fort Uearlorn. 443 

The following letter, from Mr. II. J. Bennett, is inserted as the 
most authoritative and best liistory of the last years of Fort 
Dearborn, which has yet been made public. 

Chicago, May 11, 1880. 
EuFus Blanchard, 

Dear Sir: — In reply to your inquiries concerning Fort Dear- 
born, I am pleased to say the little I can, to i^ive a more definite 
idea of Chicago's oldest landmark. The " Old Fort," burned at 
time of the massacre, belonged to an age preceding Chicago,, 
while the defense, erected at a later date on the same site, was 
known to many still living, and properly belongs to the Chicaga 
that has grown during the last lifty years, because it stood till the 
tide of improvements and the demands of a growing commerce 
crowded npon it, and until its last remnant went down in the 
great fire of 1871. 

In July, 1836, my father came to Chicago, became acquainted 
with it and helped in laying the State road from this place to. 
Galena during that summer. In March, 1844, I came with my 
father's family from the East, and sjient my first two weeks in tliis 
State, in the house of the keeper of the Government light. 
This house stood about whei'e the south abutment of Hush street 
bridge now stands. So, from my early association, I felt inter- 
ested in this historical spot. After the great fire, business located 
me within a hundred feet of the spot where the house stood in. 
which I first lived in this State, and directly upon the "site of 
Fort Dearborn," This close association of my business with a. 
spot so historical and so closely allied to me by the })resent and 
the past, led to the ])roductionof two pictures"" — one representing 
the fort as it was from 1844 till after 1850, and the other as it 
appeared after the stockade, and most of the buildings had been 
removed and naught but the "Block House" of the fort and the 
light-house and light keeper's house remained. In the product- 
ion of those pictures, I followed such sketches as could be found,, 
after verification by scores who had known the fort at an early 
day, and had pronounced the material used reliable. In describ- 
ing the place, I can do no better than to use the language of Miss- 
Augusta Meacham, in reply to my inquiries upon this subject. 

" Father kept the Goveriiment light in 1842, '3 and '4; 1-think 
previous to that for a year or two, he was superintendent of all 

*The two. pictures rct'errod to by Mr. Bennett are both landscape drawings 
01 the fort, river, and lig'ht-honse, not ditt'ering essentially, as tar as the block- 
house, ofiicers' quarters, etc.. are concerned, from the view here presented.^ 
They are now in possession of Mr. Hoyt. — Author. 



444 Fort Dearhom. 

lights on Lake Micliigan. The light-house was a stone structure, 
kept M'hite by lime wash. The dwelling house stood perhaps 
seventj^-five feet east and north of the lighthouse. The old fort 
was east and just across a rather narrow street or road from it. 
(This corresponds about to our present River street.) It was west 
of Michigan avenue; at that time, the avenue did not come to 
the river, but came to an end just south of the fort." 

The fort stood on a sand mound, some twenty feet above the 
river, and occupied a tract bounded by a line running along about 
Eiver street to near the center of tlie river as it now is, and east 
say one hundred and iifty feet east of Michigan avenue to the 
lake beach, thence south, say a like distance, south of the present 
intersection of Michigan avenue and River street, thence west to 
the place of beginning. The inclosure was a stockade formed by 
setting logs upright, and close together, the lower end bedded in 
the eartli and the upper sharpened like pickets or pikes. Within 
this inclosure and near the stockade was arrayed the barracks and 
the officers' quai-ters; they were built of hewn logs. Within 
these and to the south side of the inclosure was the parade 
ground. In 1857 Mr. A. J. Cross, now connected with the C. B. 
.& Q. R. R., but then in the employ of the city, toi-e down the 
fort and lighthouse and leveled the mound by carting the sand to 
mi Randolph street to grade. One of the buildings was moved 
but still within the site of the fort (about the center of the store now 
•owned by W. M. Hoyt, and occupied b}'^ the lirm of which he is 
the head). That building stood till the fire of 1871 destroyed it, 
.and thus removed the last of Fort Dearborn, A few weeks be- 
fore that fire I visited that building with my father, and he, lay- 
ing his hands on one of its corners, said, "This is one of the 
buildings of the old fort as I saw it in 1836." 

AVar has given way to Peace, defense to aggressive prosperity, 
but may prosperity never smother our interest in early Chicago 
:and Fort Dearborn,* 

Yours Respectfully, 

R. J. Bennett. 

*The view of the Fort here presented was from the immediate vicinity of the 
•light-house spoken of in Mr. Bennett's letter; lience the hght-house, lii,'^ht keeper's 
house and river, do not appear, as tiie spectator is looking away from these 
objects. The large, honey locust tree, appearing in the right back-ground, will be 
remembered by many of our old citizens. It stood on the west side of Michigan 
Avenue, so near the street that one needed to stoop in passing on the side- walk. 
Tradition says it was planted by the daughter of Mr. John Kiuzie. It stood 
t\\\ destroyed by the great fire. 



Chicago Pout Office. 445- 



THE CHICAGO POST OFFICE. 

Letters were first brought to Clncaijo bv tbe anTuial arrival of 
a vessel at tbe fort, or by some clmiice traveler who came to the 
place through the wilderness, and later by i^overnment mail car- 
riers who brought the mail t-) the fort from Detroit, Port 
Wayne, or St. Jo.^^epli, about once a month. These were the only 
avenues tbrough which the the outside world could be heard from 
till 1831, up to which time no post office had been established 
and private persons were dependent on the courtesy of the com- 
mander of the fort for the receipt of letters. Jonathan jST. Bailey,, 
an Indian trader, was the first postmaster appointed to act here, 
and on the 31st of March, 1831, opened his office* on the east 
bank of the Chicago river, just nortb of tbe present Lake street 
bridge, in a log store, where John S. 0. Hogan sat at the receipt 
of custom. The official duties of Mr. Bailey were very light,' the 
mail arriving at intervals of one or two weeks, and the dozen let- 
ters and as many more newspapers it contained were quickly 
handed out to their eager expectants, when no farther work was 
necessary till another mall came. 

At the brenking out of the Black Plawk war, for some cause,, 
possibly through fear of cholera, he moved with his family to St. 
Louis, and John S. 0. Hogan, the proprietor of the store, who was- 
his son-in-law, became his successor, November i2d, 1832. There 
are yet, in 1880, a very few of the earliest settlers who retain a 
distinct recollection of receiving their letters in his scanty quar- 
ters, where his attention was divided between his official duties 
and dealing out sugar, tea or tobacco by the pound, or gaudy- 
fabrics to the tawny customers who w^ere at first his main depend- 
ence for income. In 1836 he moved his store and post office tO' 
the corner of Franklin and South Water street, where he held the 
position till March 3d, 1&3T, subsequent to which time he went 
to Memphis, where he died. His successor was Sidney Abel). 
By this time the amount of post office business had increased to 
a great extent, not only as a delivery of Chicago letters, but as a 
distributing office to points west, and the former scanty quarters 
being inadequate to the wants of increasing business, the office 
was removed to the south side of Clark street, a little south of 
Water street, and a salary of |4,000 per annum was allowed him. 
He retained the office till 1841, when President Harrison ap- 
pointed AYm. Stewart as his successor — the same Vvho was the- 
editor of The Chicago American. He i-etained the office during 
President Tyler's administration, subsequent to which time he 
went to Binghampton, N. Y., where he died. James K. Polk 

* See Govt. Records at Washington. 



446 Chicago Post Office. 

was the next President of the United States, and Hart L. Stewart 
was his ap]wintee for the Chicao-o post office durini*- his term from 
1844 to 1848. ^ ^ 

Mr. Fillmore, who took the Presidential chair after .the death 
of Mr. Taylor, appointed Geo. W. Dole as postmaster, who re- 
tained the position till the election of Franklin Pierce in 1852, 
who appointed Isaac Cook to the position in the sprinij of 1853. 
The location of the office had heen removed to the north side of 
Clark street, across the alley from the Sherman honse. From 
thence it was removed across the street to the south side of the 
same allev, and over it was the office of the Chicas^o Tribune. 
Thence it was removed to Nos. 82 and 84 Dearborn street. 

On the accession ot James Bnchanan to the Presidential chair 
in 1857, Wm, Price was ap])ointed postmaster. He retained the 
office but a few months, when owing to the dead lock between 
Senator Douglas and the administration on the validity of the 
Lecompton constitution of Kansas, and kindred toils, it w.is 
deemed necessary to remove liim, which was j^romptly done, and 
Mr. Cook, who was a friend to Buchanan's measures, was restored 
to his position, which he retained till the election of Abraham 
Lincoln in 1860,* who appointed John L. Scrips, whose editor- 
ship of the Chicago Tribune is still fresh in our memories. Mr. 
Scrips, on acconnt of ill health, declined an appointment nnder 
Mr. Lincoln's second term, and Samuel Hoard was appointed as 
his successor. He retained the position till President Johnson 
took the executive chair, made vacant by Mr. Lincoln's death, 
when Eob. C. Gilmore was appointed, bnt was accidentally 
-drownetl immediately afterwards, and Frank T. Sherman was ap- 
pointed to till the place during Mr. Johnson's term. On the acces- 
sion of General Grant to the Presidency in 1869, Francis A. 
Eastman was a]tpointed to the place. He resigned in 1873, and 
Gen. John McArthur was appointed by Gen. Grant to the place, 
who took possession of the office February 14th, and held it till 
March 10th, 1877, at which time Hon'. F. W. Palmer, the 
present incumbent, was appointed to the position by President 
Hajes. 

At the great lire of 1871 it is worthy of remark that while 
nearly all private pro])erty in the burnt district was destroyed, 
the mail was all saved by dint of hard work, not exempt from 

*Previous to this time Hon. JohnWentworth, when representative to Congress 
in lS53,>had obtained at the first session of the thirty-third Cong-ress in the civil 
and diplomatic appropriation bill, approved August 4th, 1854, the first appro- 
priation for the Chicag-o post office in the following- words: " For the acconuno- 
tion of the custom house, post office, United States courts, and steamboat in- 
spectors, a building of stone 85x60 feet. 60 feet in height from the foundation, to 
cost not .more than $88,000." And it is worthy of mention that this is the 
•only building whose walls survived the great fire of 1871. 



Chicago Post Office. 447 

dan^r to the employes of the departments. It was established 
on the northwest corner of State and 16th streets, from wlience, 
-after two months, it was removed to the AV abash Avenue Meth- 
odist Church, corner of Harrison sti-eet, where it remained till 
the fire of 1S74, when it again fled before the devouring element 
— saving all the mail — establishing itself at the postal station, 
corner of Washington and Halstead streets in the West Division, 
and no interi-uption was caused by this fire in the delivery of 
letters. These quarters were retained al)out a month, when the 
oftice was established in the Honorebuihh'ng, corner of Dearborn 
and Adams streets, where it remained till fire again invaded their 
quarters, Jan. 4th, 1879, when tliey, with all tlie mail saved, took 
flight to the northeast corner of Washington and State streets, in 
the basement of the Singer Ijnilding, where it remained till April 
12th, 1879, at which time the oflice was established at its present 
locality in the Gi)vernment building, occupying the square* be- 
tween Adams, Jackson, Clark and Dearborn streets. 

The expenses of the office in 1836 were $300, and its commis- 
sions the same year were $2,148.29. Ten years later, in 1846, the 
expenses were $5,234.39, while the expenses were $7,228.51. 
Ten years later, in 1856, the expenses were $41,130.56, and the 
expenses, $65,804.41. 

Since the fire, beginning with 1872, tlie total amount of money- 
order transactions received and paid out have been as follows: 
For 1872, $7,937,751.20; 1873, $10,632,069.08; 1874, $14,507,- 
431.83; 1875, $14,741,446.65; 1876, $12,930,824.88; 1877, $13,- 
157,085.33; 1878, $15,598,765.14; 1879, $16,892,975.92. The 
sale of stamps, stamped envelopes and postal cards for the same 
period has been, 1872, $715,010.27; 1873, when postal cards 
were first introduced, $788,006.29; 1874, $840,388.48; 1875, 
$970,886.47; 1876, $955,417.70; 1877, $953,148.08; 1878, $1,006,- 
352.10: 1879, $1,074,237.62. 



44 S Chicago Harbor, 



CHICAGO HARBOR. 

Chicago III., June 21, 1880. 
RuFus Blanchard. 

Wlieaton, 111. 

Dear Sir: I take great pleasure in submitting, in accordance 
with your request, the following statement of work done by the 
U. S. Government for improving the harbor at Chicago; it 
would bo more accurate to sav for raakino' a harbor, as none ex- 
isted until the natural condition of affairs was modified. An 
Idea of what this condition was may be derived from a glance at. 
the plate fronting page 264, Part III of your book; there we see 
that the Chicago iliver, making an abrupt bend to the south,. 
Dreaks throug-Ii the sandspit some distance south of the site of 
the old fort. It must not be supposed that this Avas a perma- 
nent outlet, nor that it constituted a reliable channel of com- 
munication between the lake and river. It was simply a break 
through the sandspit, in which the depth of water seldom ex- 
ceeded two feet, and which was frequently entirely blockaded 
with sand. 

The act of Congress approved March 2nd, 1833, appropriated 
the sum of $25,000 for improving the "harbor at Chicago, on 
Lake Michigan;" and then was begun that series of works which 
has given to Chicago the fine harbor facilities indicated on the 
sketch transmitted herewith. 

The first step was to make a direct cut from the bend in the 
river, to the lake; a revetment was placed on the north side of 
the cut, and the north pier was projected into the lake for a dis- 
tance of about 1,000 feet; the object of this pier was to catch and 
hold back the sand, which, moving south along the lake shore 
under the influence of the littoral current, would soon have 
closed the outlet, and left matters as bad as before. "While the 
construction of the north pier was in progress, the cut was 
widened to 200 feet, and riveted on the south side. In this way 
a reliable entrance to the riA'er was secured at an earl}' date. It 
would, be neither interesting nor instructive to follow, step by step, 
the progress of this system of improvement, and I will simply 
state that the work consisted in a gradual extension of the piers, 
and some necessary dredging between them, until the year 1869, 
before any movement was made to obtain increased harbor facil- 
ities, beyond those furnished by the river. At this time the end 



Chicago llarhor. ^ly 



of the nortli p,cr was 1 100 feet lakeward of tl.c shore line of 1809 

^e ?o' hP I-h"' /'''^' ^'"V"/ ^'^'^'^^^ ^y "^>tumi accretion 
of oooot. h'"^ current l>etore referred to, tiirono-h a distance 
ot AOOq teet, the area ol these accretions Avas about 75 acres- the 
south pier was al)out 1 GOO feet shorter than tJie north pier-' the 

A^^o tf ?^.7n ^'''' ^f] 'f^ ^-ovetnient made by the U. S. from 
I»rfo to lb<0 a«i^i,n-ei>-ated about (;,0()0 feet 

In the meantime, the conmierce of Cliica-o had increased to 
such proportions, as to shou- clearly tliat sometliinc. must be 
done to rehevetlie river from its cro^-ded condition? Accord 
inglj we hnd that Major J. J]. AVheeler, the U. S. Kno-inee- n 
charge ot the works, reported to tlie Cliief of En-ine^M-s in a 
letter dated Nov. 30, 1809, '• tlu.t the Chicago rive? is taxed to 
Its u most to accommodate tiu. present condition of aftairs, and 
t^ia It 1. utterly inadecjuate to meet the wants of commerce rap- 
dly growing." To obtain the desired relief, he recomnu.uled 
hat a portion of the lake be inclosed in such a manner as to 
orm an outer harbor; to this end he proposed to construct a 
breakwater extending southerly, from the entrance betwee the 
piers, for a distance of 4,000 feet, ami from the south end of this 
structure, a closing pier, 3 400 feet long to the shore at the toot 
ot^an Buren St.; the enclosed area was then to be dredo-ed to a 
sufhcient depth tor vessels to lie at anchor. This idan havin.- 
been approved, work was commenced on the main breakwater in 
18 < 0, and conipleted in 1875. The depth of water in which it was 
bull varies trom 20 to 22 feet ; it is ]>uilt of cribs 30 feet w'de 

aSVl 7^'^^ ''r' ' '\' ■-l--^'-"<'^vire extends to 6 fee? 

above the water surtace. During the time that work on this 
structure was m progress, tlie south pier Avas extended GoO feet 
and a " return " 300 leet long, added to the north en.l of the break- 
water ; m 18 <b, the north pier was extended GOO feet Thus the 

1870 f!f i'q'4 • * 'f^'r'^^'^^^l piers and breakwater, built from 
18(0 to 18 < 6 inclusive, was 5,500 lineal feet 

There was no money available for doing much work in the 
year lollowing, but Avhen the appropriation tor 1878 became avail- 
able, It was applied m part, to dredging a channel 500 feet wide 
to a depth ot 16^ ieet, through the outer harbor, the amount of 
excavation being about 100,000 cubic yards. In November, 1878, 
Captain G J. Lydecker, tiie IJ. S. engineer in charge, submitted 
a project for moditymg and extending the facilities iurnished 
by Wheeler's plan; the principal features of this moditied plan 
which Avas approved, Avere the substitution of a detached break- 
water tor the southerly or closing pier, proposed by Major 
Wheeler, and the construction of an exterior breakwater; located 
to the northAvard and eastward of the north i>ier, to cover a o-ood 



45(1 Chicago Ilarhor. 

anchorage ground in deep water, and provide in this way a harbor 
of refuge. The construction of tlie southerly breakwater was 
commenced in June, 1879, and completed to its full extent, 3,000 
feet, early in the summer of 1880. 

The total exj)enditure l)v the II. S. Government, for this harbor, 
from 1833 to July, 1880, 'is $1,108,005. The work has all been 
planned and executed under the direction of officers detailed from 
the Corps of Engineers II. S. Army; it includes the construction 
of about 14,500 lineal feet of piers and breakwater, and an in- 
definite amount of dredging. The benefits derived therefrom 
may be summarized as follows: In 1833 there was no reliable 
channel connecting the lake and river, whereas now there is a 
straight entrance between the piers, with a channel depth of 15 
feet. The breakwaters alread)- built shelter an area of 450 acres, 
which was formerly in the open lake, and will permit the con- 
struction of wharves alone: the lake front as far as 12th Street, 
which, supposing one at the foot of each street, would provide an 
aggregate length of dock line of at least 32,000 feet, and these 
docks will be in direct communication with the railway system 
of the city. 

AVhen the work already authorized is completed, the outer 
harbor will have a uniform depth of 16|^ feet, and the exterior 
breakwater will provide an excellent harbor of refuge, which 
vessels can reach with ease during the severest storms, and from 
which the outer harbor and river will be readily accessible. For 
carrving on this work. Congress has this vear appropriated the 
Bum" of $145,000. 

In addition to the works described above for the improvement 
of the harbor, the Government has also built and maintained at 
Chicago one lighthouse, three beacons, and one life-saving station. 

Yery respectfully, 

G. J. Lydecker, 
Major of Engineers TJ. S. A. 



Convention of I860- 451 



CONVENTION 0¥ 1S60. 

Two opposing forces grew into antagonism in the United 
States withm the memory of middle-agecF men now lirino 

Tins antagonism, that had been gathering force dnrin<^a o-en 
eration in its progress, had gradnalfy oblitemted party i7ie' '^^d 
6 bstituted an issue on a real principle in politieiil econon'y^^ 

The old issne grew out of an honest difference of opinion on 
financial questions, such as tariff, banking and public ZroNe 
ments; tlie A\ higs being the ambitious and ] Wressiv'e Se^t" 
and the Democrats claiming. to be the cauti<rus -eAlatoT^^^^ 
app J the brakes upon hasty knd ill-digested legislat on B^? 
atthe ime when the new issne came into existence the oM 
one had lost its nat onal character and become effete The nevv 
assue wa. on the subject of slavery, and dispite all efforts on tl I 
part ot statesmen, as well as divines, to burv it beneath some pla 
tic subterfuge, it came npin 1856 in its naked propor ionT a he 

the new irfv TI ^"^^^^^^^^t^s to represent the principles of 
t le neAv party The issue that now divided the country prac 
ticallj involved the existence pf slavery. Financial ouestkfn; 
were lost sight of, and had little or no part in it ^"^^^lons 

had .'^tn nn in'tl/r ^" '^^ ^^'^^^^^T of the country that an issue 
iiaa g^o^vn up m the popular heart exempt from any other but 
conscientious principles as to what policy should best promol 
justice, as well as national honor. Tlie situation n the Ui^ted 

wl^ThliXed" ti;:i:'- '^"' ^'f '' ^"-^^^'^^ ^^^-^ the co_ 
weaim aispJaced the reigning dynasty on a religious Question 

It was the higher law in both cases that thenew paity was con" 
tending for, and m both it was the first time that eSTouim-y" 

Sord fZl'l 1 P"^ -'i?"^^"" ""^^' ^^^^^^^^^^d i^ establish ng^a 
moral tiibuna by which to overturn the majesty of le^al forms 

:No one will deny that this was the c^e in Enf.l nd7n ihe 

U^M SHt'"-"' }' "^^\.*^"^ '''''^ '^'^' ^"«h was tfecTse n le 
United btates in the poltical c-imiviio-n r,f icr-n • ^- ^ t "^ 

fact tl,at after the wa? which folloS "t.^e'S^'slit «"'„' hadt 
e changed to co.nply with the change it had w o Xt Ti e 
ttempt to compass tl>e desired end, hronght to 1 X f, ]8',fi at 

;;:.rd"itl!;!.r ''''''""'"™ Convea.ionrthe ii.-sf ^/''itf hfnS! 



452 Convention of 1860. 

The moral sense of its advocates was deeply wounded, but they 
hove the humiliation in silence, with no lettino; down of their 
Durposes; on the contrary, they gathered strength as the time drew 
near for another trial in 1860, And now no prestige, no favor- 
itism, no conventional forms or local rights must stand in the 
way of the fnltihnent bf the great popular voice that transcended 
everything. In vain may history be searched for such a sub- 
lime episode when so complete a submission was made to a prin- 
ciple as the Chicago Convention of 1860 personified. It is 
doubtful if Chicago is ever again destined to such honors as fell 
upon lier when she was selected as the most appropriate place 
for this 'convention. It was a compliment paid to the moral 
sense of her rising mind, to the magnanimity of her national 
policy, to her immunity from local prejudice, to her bold and 
original conceptions, and to her youthful and impulsive force, so 
essential to the success of the work which the convention were 
about to undertake. More than all this, it was a proof. that her 
interests were locally interwoven with every part of the United 
States, not only by the physical forces of nature, but by the fra- 
ternizino; influences that ffrow out of them throuo^li the channels 
of commerce. 

As soon as the selection was made, prompt action was taken 
by Chicago's leading citizens to make preparation for the occas- 
ion, commensurate with its importance. The first thing to be 
done was to provide a place for its sessions, and to this end anew 
and original plan was proposed. It was to erect a building on 
purpose. The proposal was received with favor so universal, that 
by voluntary subscriptions, the bulk of which was not over ten 
dollars from each giver, the building was erected. It consisted 
of an immense audience room arranged like an amphitheatre, 
whose roof was supported by numerous upright posts. It was 
christened The Wigwam, 

The convention was unlike any that had ever preceded it. 
Beneath the noisy demonstrations that always accompany such 
gatherings, like the froth that floats upon the surface of deep wa- 
ters, was a silent force, the oflspring of that kind of philosophy 
which might be called Antinomian in its character; a philosophy 
that accepts things for what they are worth, and not for- what 
they appear to be; a philosophy that sees the sublimest truths in 
simple formula, and beholds a direct road to national grandeur^ 
unobstructed by the vagaries of partisans; a j^hilosophy that 
could be charitable without complicity, discreet without being 
exclusive, prudent without being intolerant, conservative without 
a letting doion of frinciple, and more tenacious for substance 
than for theory. Wlio could fill such a measure? Who could step 



Convention of 1860. V>?> 

into the arena impervious to the shots of envy, liatred and malice 
■destined to be hurled ajjainst him from an old party whose long 
lease of power had confirmed it in its defensive measures of ex- 
treme constitutional riirlits!! 

Horace Greelej was then a potent force in the new party. All 
eyes M'ere turned to him for support, and no doubt exists that, 
had he given Mr. Seward his hearty support from the first, he 
Avould have been elected as the nominee at the iirst balloting of 
the convention. Every influence that the ingenuity of Mr. 
Seward's friends could suggest was early brought to bear upon 
Mr. Greeley in his behalf, but the venerable printer was imper- 
vious to any pressure that could be brought u])on him. He did 
not oppose Mr. Seward, but the fact that he had not advocated 
his cause, added to the fact that the Press and Tribune, the 
Journal and the Democrat, of Chicago, had from the first been 
earnest supporters ot Abraham Lincoln as the nominee,' pre- 
vented hastv action in the convention and held l)ack the party- 
leaders in abeyance to public sentiment. In the hands of the 
latter, Mr. Lincoln's nomination was assured, for the convention 
dared not disobev its mandates. Besides this, the very atmos- 
phere of Chicao^o was charo:ed in his favor bv a subtle and irre- 
rsistible force, before which all other pretensions vanished, and 
when the day set for the opening of the convention arrived an 
impressive circnmspection reigned throughout the hall, and even 
•extended its influence into the broad open air of the streets out- 
.-side; for among the many thousands gathered there, were agood- 
Iv number whose mataritv of intellect rose above the average 
:mind, and leavened the whole lump with a fnll measure of 
.gravity appropriate to the occasion. The convention commenced 
its sittings on the lOtliof May, 1860, and continued till the 19th. 
It was composed of 4fi6 delegates, 234 of whom were necessary 
for a choice. On the third ballot Lincoln received 354 votes, 
which result was announced to the audience, and loud and long 
C'ontiiwied cheers from them sufficiently vouched the action of 
the deleo-ates bv unmistakable sio-ns of enthusiasm. Hannibal 
ILimlin, of Maine, was nominated on the next ballot for vice- 
^)resident by 367 votes. The iiews flew to every part of the 
■country, and the presidential cam]>aign opened with an enthusi- 
$ism on the ])art of the new party, and firmness on the part of 
the old, never before witnessed. 

The results of the Republican victory which followed are sub- 
lime beyond descri]Hi(jn, and sad leyond measure, and will never 
be forgotten in the history of the world. 

A careful study of them, while it reveals the frailties of over- 
reaching ambition on the part of those who raised their arm 



454 Convention of 1S60, 

against the government, also reveals the unwelcome truth that 
posterity's teeth will be set on edge by the public debt, incurred 
in the inevital)le war which followed. Air, Lincoln's untar- 
nished record in it has turned all his political enemies into 
friends of his measures and. his memory, and convinced the world 
that greatness is less the result of notoriety than natural good 
sense. The creatures of vain ambition stood appalled before his 
unpretentious power, that with a simple helm overturned the 
work of the forum, and demolished whatever stood in the way of 
the sense of the nation, of which he was the faithful representa- 
tive. 

His life and his death were an ever-living proof that justice is 
the only thing that can save a nation in times of peril, and his 
exemplary administration of public afiairs has made it ]:»ossible 
for historians to write his eulogy without being accused of parti- 
sanship. 

ISTo President of the United States should come short of this 
high standard of statesmanship wliich, if universally practiced, 
would be a safeguard against the disgi-aces of partisan strategy 
and the dangers of disunion, as well as the moody discontents of 
Socialism. Simple justice is all the people want, in default ol" 
which revolution, sooner or later, M'ill bring it with fearful retri- 
bution. 

That Mr. Lincoln's administration was statesman-like and not 
partisan, is demonstrated by the fact that at his untimely death,, 
one of the best representatives of the Southern Confederacy,, 
Alexander LI. Stepliens, said: "That is the heaviest blow the- 
South has yet received." 

Had his life been spared, it is fair to assume that the problem 
of reconstruction would have received a magnanimous solution 
more consistent with political economy than was possible witli- 
out his counsels, lie who knew how to improvise useful mater- 
ial to build up his own cause out of those opposed to him, might 
have turned the popular tide of the South aftei- the war in favor 
of the Union by those modifying arts that melted away opposi- 
tion to the forms, of law and order which he had reduced to 
simple elements. As an example of his easy way of overcoming 
opposition, the following circumstance, which has never before- 
been made public, is here related. When Mr. Lincoln was in a 
quandary as to whom he should give the chief command of the 
union forces, he consultad an old friend on the impoi-tant matter, 
and while conferrinir together, Mr. Lincoln projiosed to give the- 
chief command of the Union forces to Douglas, on the ground 
that his indomitable energy and superior capacity would insure- 
success against the foe, and convert enemies in the north into* 



Convention of ISGO. 455 

friends. This measure was opposed bj the adviser of Mr. Lin- 
coin, on the oroiind that if successful, Mr. Douglas might use 
his prestige in a spirit of rivahy against the administration. 
This consideration had no weight with Mr. Lincoln, who still 
favored the promotion of Mr. Douglas to the position. 

Seeing lie conld not turn his purposes, liis adviser admonished 
him of the fact, that inasmuch as Mr. Douglas was then dan- 
gerously sick at Chicago, it would be prudent to wait till he had 
recovered before appointing him to the position, lest in the event 
of his death, the friends of Mr. Douglas would sa_y that an empty 
honor had been conferred upon him, which it was certain, he 
never could live to enjoy. This consideration had its desired 
efiect, and Mr. Lincoln concluded to let the ap]^ointment rest, to 
await the result of Mr. Douglas' sickness. Within two weeks 
from that time he died.* 

There may be some at this time who honestly depre.cate the 
war, and aver tliat the national debt will entail more evils npon 
the Avhite race that can be compensated by the liberation of the- 
colored race; but even these do not censure Mr. Lincoln, or hold 
him responsible for any national griefs, for by his own record he 
is shown to have been willing to save the union, either with or 
without slavery, and his tardy issue of the emancipation procla- 
mation till it became a sine qua non, as to public coiitideuce in 
the ability of the North to conquer the rebellion, sufhciently de- 
monstrated his broad national conservatism, as well as his fidelity 
to the unirm. Such a happy combination of all the statesman- 
like qualities so necessary to guide the ship of State througli the 
tangled mazes of our Civil War, could not have grown into being 
under New England culture; not but what she had men superior 
to Mr Lincoln in anv one ijift, but in vain mav we look there for 
those mateliless virtues wliicli Western pioneer training, Western 
broad-gange statesmanship, and nniversal good fellowship, has 
added to their already munificent inheritances from the East, and 
for Mdiich an everlastin<>: debt of obli oration is dne her. 

The West is the child of the Ea'st, and as the parent in the ma- 
turity of age takes pride in the transcendent genius of a son, 
so the East beholds the zenith of imperial power graduating vrest- 
ward as new fields for national grandeur are unfolded in that di- 
rection, quickening into activity generous purposes, in propor- 
tion to her accumulating: resources. 

*The authority for this is a ?tatrsnian now living-, whose iulvanced years are 
his apolog-y tor not allowinpf his name to appear, lest it mijrht subject him to 
inquisitive interviewing. He says, however, that if necessary to sustain the 
voracity of the writer, he will waive the objections and give his name to tlie 
public as voucher for the statement. 



456 Convention of ISGO. 

Mr. Lincoln was the incarnate type and model of the combined 
virtues of the AVestern citizen; and where on the face of the great 
WM>rld of progress can his equal be found, in his full rounded up 
character, deficient in nothing which could bring strength to the 
nation by securing tl>e services of the working bees, and not the 
drones, in its great hive. 

Both of the ISTapoleons have made their mistakes, plain to be 
seen by all, for which they have paid tlie penalty. Cromwell's 
rule with all its grandeur, if blended with Lincoln's charity, 
would have secured the full endorsement of the Massachusetts 
colony (which it never received), and would have warded off the 
recoil, wliich, at his death, replaced the old dynasty. Bismarck, 
for want of Lincoln's charity, has of late entangled Germany in 
a threatening religious issue, besides having challenged a hostile 
antagonism in France, that costs the nation millions annually to 
defend themselves against. 

The policy by which even wise England conquered IS'apoleon 
at the expense of their national debt, has long since been ac- 
knowledged by her best statesmen to have been a mistake,* and 
it is not too much to say, would never have had place, if tlie con- 
servatism of Abraham Lincoln had prevailed in the English par- 
liament at the time. By comparing notes with the world, while 
we as frontierers can make but a pitiful show in science or art, 
yet in that kind of natural good sense which our conditions have 
introduced into political economy, we have claims worthy of 
consideration; and it is not too much to say that the genius of 
Lincoln, as the representative of them, has crowned the West 
with imperishable laurels. It lias also proven the elastic tenacity 
of the AVest, a bond essential to the preservation of the Union in 
times of peril, and Chicago to be the pivot on which the hinge 
turns. Under this responsibility the city of the lakes rests in 
her majesty of strength, not to be challenged, but to be utilized 

*As a proof of this tho followinf^ extract from a letter from Rt. Hon. John 
Brig-ht, meniber of parliament iroiii Birminfrliam, to the author, is quoted. It 
is dated One Ash. Rochdale. April Sth, IKSU: 

"As to llic irisdom of Parliament at the end of the last and the heginning of 
the presi-iif cciiturn. I suspect there was no such, tiling as wisdom in those times 
in the lir'-tisli Parliament, or in the councils ofihe King. A>id now the time is 
j)i(st. and ti/fle good can come frotn the discussion of the good or had of what' 
Parliament then did." 

The author agrees with the distinguished British statesman that no good can 
come from discussing the above question. But an allusion is here uiitde to it by 
way of comparing- notes between the poHcy of England and America, in the con- 
tracting of their respective national debts, and the author takes this orcasion to 
• thank his honorable correspondent for the frank expression of his opinion as 
above, though it censures the past policy of his government. Not every Amer- 
ican statesmen would be equally ingenuous. 



Convention of I860. 457 

in the great fraternity of States, to wliicli Chicago extends her 
right hand in that broad-gauge spirit of good fellowship, for which 
she lias a high reputation. 

Reckless partisan leaders have no hand in this fellowship. 
The genei'al interests of the country are the last things they care 
for, for they live on the offal of venality, and in proportion as 
political vices accumnlate, their services are in demand to carry 
them, like mill-stones about their necks, till corruption has 
reached the limit which the good sense of the nation will bear. 
Then comes the recoil. !N^ew men and new measures are brought 
to the front in the more forcible but less noisy strength of jus- 
tice. Strong vices stimulate into life equally strong virtues, to 
repair spoliation, and in no place in the cou)itry can these vir- 
tues find an equall}^ available field for action, as in the great 
center Mdiose relations and associations are divided and shared 
from every direction, and whose charities are broadened into a 
national conservatism too flexible to be severed, and too tenacious 
to be conquered. Such is the proud position of the great North- 
west in 1881. And let it never be forgotten, that she is the cradle 
of the new National Policy, which every American citizen now 
■endorses, and that this policy was the fruitage of the broad fields 
for agriculture that nature so invitingly spread for free labour in 
the West, out-rivaling the time-serving policy of slave labour, and 
•changing petty partisan disputes in our national councils into 
.grander issues, more worthy the minds of American citizens. 

Twenty years have passed since the assembling of this conven- 
tion, and more material for history has grown up with them, than 
•during the seventy-seven years preceding it, which would date 
back to the peace of Paris, succeeding the Revolution. 

With truth, it may be said, that the issues that divided the 
•country into two nearly equal parts before this convention, divide 
it no longer. AVhat, at least, one jDolitical party then considered 
only a side-issue, every political party now looks upon as a national 
issue, involving vital principles of public policy, now settled on 
the only permanent basis which " manifest destiny" pointed out. 
Viewed as such, it becomes a legitimate theme for the historian, 
and if left out of history, the treatment of all or any other points 
•on political history would be in vain. 

Next to the question of slavery, the question whether we are 
Si solid nation, or a confederacy of states, whose integrity is sub- 
ject to the caprices of any single one, has been settled 



THE GEEAT FIRE OF 1S71. 

" A voice is ringinij in the air, 

A tale is txembling on the wire, 
The people shout in wild despair: 

• Chicago is on fire.' "* 

In the year 1871 A. D., and the year 38 of the existence of 
Chicago as a city, on the Tth, 8th and Otli of October, occurred 
the great fires. They mark an episode in Chicago history never 
to be forgotten. The official census of the city for 1870 was 
298,977. Its population at the time of the fires, one year later, 
at a prudent estimate, may be set down eight per cent, more, 
making 322,895. A small portion 0!ily of these were born here. 
They had been drawn hither by those incentives which the local- 
ity offei-ed for speculation, not only in the rise of real estate, but 
in the facilities which the place offered as an emporinm for the 
sale of every kind of merchandise, to supply the increasing wants 
of the great Xorthwest in the building up pi-ocess in which she 
was then, and must still for many years, l)e engaged, before she 
will have taken upon herself the conditions of political and social 
maturity. 

The extra stimulus which the war had given to the increase of 
business in Chicago had subsided, and a lull in that impulsive 
haste that had long been a distinguishing feature here, had set- 
tled upon the city. The volume of staple business was without 
diminution, the real estate market was firm, and the demand for 
this important auxiliary to wealth was healthy;. but yet there 
was evidently an undercurrent manifest in moneyed circles, sig- 
nifying that prices of it would not soon again advance, at least,. 
by any eccentric movement. After the war was over, a general 
expectation followed that prices for everything would fall imme- 
diately, and as one, two, three and four years had passed without 
any serious ivdiu'tion, either in goods or real estate, the people 
of "Chicago had begun to believe that no sucii destiny was in store- 
for them. Such was the feeling in the spring of 1871. 

The latter part (»f the summer and autumn fuRowing passed 
without rain in tiie entire Northwest. The whole country was- 
so exhausted of moisture that even the night refused her cus- 
tomary allowance of dew on the vegetation, and the grass was 
crisp beneath the feet of the hungry cattle of the pasture. The 



* " The Fall of Chicago," a poem written by Mrs. S. B. Olsen, while the fire- 
was burning, and published in a pamphlet. 



The Great Fire of 1871. 45^ 

earth was dry as ashes to the depth of tliree feet, and the peaty 
bogs of the marsli were as combustible as the contents of the 
furnace. Soutliern whids prevailed, bringing warmth without 
moisture, and fanned the forests into universal tinder. Even the 
summer's growth of the prairie would feed a flame in places 
where it had not been grazed down or mowed. Chicago was noc 
unliive the country around in dryness, and, unfortunately, the 
well-built buildings of stone and brick which composed her cen- 
tral portions were partly surrounded by cheap wooden buildings, 
characteristic of all Western cities of sudden growth. It was 
among these that a fire broke out a little before ten o'clock on 
the night of October 7, 1871, on Clinton street, near its crossing 
of Yan Bnren street, two blocks west of the river. Owino- ta 
the inflammable character of the building where it began, and 
the strong wind tliat blew directly from the soutli, it (piicklj 
spread to adjacent buildings, and ere it could be extinguished, 
burnt over the area Iving between Yan Burea street on the ■south, 
Clinton on the west, Adams on the north, and tlie river on the, 
east, except one or two small buildings on the outermost corners 
of the blocks. 

This was the largest fire that had ever visited Chicago U23 to 
this date. 

The next evening, Sunday night, October 8, at about the same 
hour, a fire broke out six blocks south of the first fire, in a cow- 
stable on the north side of De Koven street, a little east of Jef- 
ferson. The current account at the time attributed it to the 
kicking over of a kerosene lamp by a cow, while its owner, a wo- 
man named O'Leary, was milking her, and in the turmoil of the 
hour, this theory was accepted as a verital)]e truth, published in 
the newspapers, and even in some of the books giving the his- 
tory of the fire, but no evidence can be found to sustain it, while,. 
on the contrary, the following statement would go to disprove it, 
or, at least, involve the cause of the fire in mystery. On the 
following morning, (Monday), Clinton S. Snowden, now city ed- 
itor of the Chicago Times, and Edgar L. Wakeman. now man- 
ager of the Louisville Co%iTier- Journal for Chicago, while the 
fire was yet consuming the buildings in the Xortli Division, vis- 
ited the scene where it started. Here they found a large crowd 
of excited men speculating on its cause, and here was the hut of 
O'Leary, with doors and windows bai-red, while her cow stable,, 
where all the crowd supposed that the fire originated, was re- 
duced to ashes. The two sight-seers now determined to force a. 
passage into the O'Leary Iiut, and to tliis end pried up one of the 
ttack windows witli a board and entered the premises. 

They found Mrs. O'Leary in a fearful state of suspense lest 
fclie sliould be arrested as an incendiary, but somewhat under the 



460 The Great Fire of 1871. 

influence of stimulants to brace up her courage for tlie occasion. 
She soleniuly denied any knowledge of the cause of the fire, and 
if she knows its cause, without doubt she will carry the mysteri- 
'V)us burden while she lives. The above circumstances are stated 
because they describe the first interviewing of Mrs. O'Leary, and 
both of the gentlemen are now well-known journalists of Chi- 
■<'ago. Their statement accords with the following, from the 
foreman of the first engine company on the ground, which is 
liere inserted as ofiicial: 

ChiCxVGO, November 14, 1880. 

Mr. Rufus Blanchard, Dear Sir:— In compliance with your re- 
<[uest as to the origin and condition of the great Chicago fire, I 
would state, that being the first officer at the fire, that I received 
;an alarm from the man in watch-tower of engine company No. 
•6, one minute in advance of the alarm given by the watchman 
in city hall tower. On my arrival at the fire, whicli was in the 
;til]ey bounded by Jefterson, Clinton, Taylor and DeKoven 
t^treets, I discovered three or more barns and sheds on fire. 

I connected to the nearest fire plug, located on the corner of 
>»Jefierson and DeKoven streets, and went to work. As to which 
barn the fire originated in, I could not say. 

As to the fire not being checked in its northward progress, I 
would state in explanation, that previous to the great fire of 
1871, watchmen were stationed in the city hall tower, to keep a 
lookout ±<)r fires; and if a fire was discovered by either of the 
men, he called the operator on duty in the fire alarm office, loca- 
ted on the third floor below the watch-tower, and instructed him 
-what box to strike. 

On the evening of Oct. 8, 1871, the watchman on duty in the 
«city hall tower, discovered the fire, and ordered the operator to 
strike a box located one mile southwest from the fire, which he 
;should have located one mile northeast, and which would liav^e 
brought the first alarm engines instead of the second, which re- 
tsponded to the alarm given by watchman, the first alarm en- 
gines remaining at their respective houses. In conclusion, I 
'would state that the above are facts. 

William Musham, 
Foreman of Engine Co. No. 6. 

Whatever might have been its cause, there is no reasonable 
■snspicion that it was the result of incendiarism. BetV)re tiie 
:strong south-westerly wind which was then blowing, it ])enetrated 
•diagonally across block after block, at first cutting a swath about 
80 feet wide, gradually increasing in width in passing through 
■the cheap wooden buildings in its track, leaving beiiind a fiery 



The Great- Fire of 187 1. 461 

^val•;e, iiiiiking .slow but sure inroads, laterally on both sides^ 
At 11:30 it had reached the open ruins of the previous night's- 
<levastations. Though up to this time the utmost exertions of 
tlietiremen had been feeble and unavailing against the progress of 
the tlames, it was hoped that the broad space burnt the night 
l)efore would arrest the northern progress of the fire, and the r^vei- 
its eastern progress. Butbv this time it had attacked the planing 
mills and various manufactures of lumber alonty the west side of 
the river, between Taylor and Yan I>ureii streets, and a living 
mass of lire, covering a hundred acres of combustii)les, shot up 
into the clouds, lighting up the midnight hoar with a sheet of 
flame, which dashed hope of arresting its career to the ground. 
At one bound the wind carried burning l»rands, not oidy across 
the river, but even to Fi'anklin Street. These newly kindl(;(l 
fires immediately spread, and the South Side was ablaze; and now 
it assumed proportions that exceeded in magnitude its intensity 
thus far. The whole South Division was now thoroughly alarmed, 
it being evident that not only the entire business area of the city 
must burn, but ne'arly the entire North Division lay in the track 
of the destroyer in its irresistible progress before the wind. Still 
a ray of hope was left to the North-siders, and to the owners of 
the Tribune building also, which was bU[)posed to be tire proof. 
This hope w^as dispelled two hours later, as will apj^ear from the 
following account, written in Shealian & Upton's History, from' 
notes as they viewed the scene from the upper windows of the 
Tribune building: ' 

" About one o'clock, a cloud of black smoke rose in the south- 
west, which, colored by the lurid glare of the flames, ])resented a 
remarkable picture. Due west another column of smoke and 
tire rose, while the north was lighted with flying cinders and 
destructive brands. In ten minutes more, the whole horizon to 
the west, as far as could be seen from the windows, was a lire 
cloud with flames leaping up along the whole line, just showing- 
theii" heads and subsiding from view like tongues of snakes. Five 
minutes more wrought a change. Peal after peal ^vas soundwl 
from the Court House bell. The fire was on La Salle street, had 
swept north, and the Chamber of Commerce began to belch forth 
smoke and flame from windows and ventilators. The east wing- 
of the Court House was alight; then the west' wing; the tower 
was blazing on the south.side, and at two o'clock the wdiole build- 
ing was in a sheet of flame. The Chamber of Commerce burned 
with a bright steady flame. The smoke in front grew denser for 
a minute or two, and then bursting into a blaze from Monroe to 
Madison street^;, proclaimed that Farw^ell Hall and the buildings 
north and south of it were on fire. At 2.10 o'clock the Court 
House tower was a glorious sight. At 2.15 o'clock the tower 



462 The Great Fire of 1871. 

fell, and in two minutes more a crash annonnoed the fall of the 
interior of the bnikiing. The windows of the office were hot, and 
the flames gave a light almost dazzling in its intensity. It be- 
came evident that the whole block from Clark ti:> Dearborn, and 
from Monroe to Madison, must go; that the block from Mafhson to 
Washington must follow; Portland Block was ablaze, while every- 
thing from Clark to Dearborn, on "Washington street, was on tiro. 
At 2.30 the fire was half-way down Madison street; the wind 
blew a hurricane; the firebrands wei-e hurled along the ground 
Mnth incredible form against everything that stood in their way. 
Then the flames shoTup in the rear of Reynolds' block, and the 
Trihidie building seemed doomed. An effort was made to save 
the flies and other valuables, which were moved into the compo's- 
ing room, but the building stood like a rock, lashed on both sides 
by raging waves of flame, and it was abandoned. It was a fire 
proof building; and there were not a few who expected to see it 
«stand the shock. The greatest possil)le anxiety was felt for it, as 
it was the key to the whole block, including McVicker's Theatre, 
and protected State street and Wabash and Michigan avenues, north 
of Madison street. When the walls of Reynolds' Block fell, and 
•Cobb's building was no more, the prospects of its standing were 
good. Several persons were up-stairs and found it cool and 
])leasant — quite a refreshing haven from tlie hurricane of smoke, 
dust and cinders that assailed the eyes. 

"Meanwhile the flre had swept along northward and eastward. 
The Briggs House, the Sherman House, the Tremont House, had 
fallen in a few minutes. The bridges from Wells to Rush street 
were burning; the Northwestern Depot was in a blaze, and from 
Van Buren street on the south, far over into the north side, from 
the river to Dearborn street, the whole country was a mass of 
smoke, flanies and ruin. It seemed as if the city east of Dearborn 
street and to the river would be saved. The hope was strength- 
ened when the walls fell of Honore's noble block without ignit- 
ing that standing opposite. The vacant lot to the south seemed 
to protect it, and at seven o'clock on Monday morning the whole 
(if the region designated was considered saved, no flre being 
visible except a smouldering flre in the barber's shop under the 
Trihiuie office, which being conflned in brick walls, was not con- 
sidered dangerous. Every effort was made to quench it, but 
the water works had burned, and the absence of water, while it 
announced how far north the flames had reached, forbade any 
hope of quenching the flre below. 

There was one remarkable turning point in this fire, in which 

•everything was remarkable; and that was at Madison street bridge, 

where every one expected to see the fire re-cross to the west side, 

.and commence upon a new path of destruction. Directly across 



The Great Fire of 1S71. 4(>;3 

tjvi^ bridge were the Oriental Flonrino- Mills, wliieh were saved 
from destruction bv the immense ste;un Ibre.e pump uttaclied to 
tlie mill, bv which a ])Owertul stream of water was thrown upon 
the exposed property, hour after hour. This pump undoubtedly 
saved the West Division from a terrible conflagration, for if the 
Oriental Mills had burned, the combustible natui-e (.)f the ad- 
joining buildings and adjacent lumber yards would have insured 
a scene of devastation too heart-sickening for contemplation. 

The scene presented when the fii-e was at its height in tlie 
South Division, is well nigh indescribable. The huge stone and 
brick structures melted before the lierceness of the flames as a 
snow-flake melts and disa])pears in water, and almost as (piickly. 
Six-storv buildings would take tire, and disappear forever from 
sight, in Ave minutes by the watch. In nearly every street the 
flames would enter at the I'ears of bnildings, and appear simulta- 
neously at the fronts. For an instant the windows would redden, 
then great billows of tire would belch out, and meeting each other, 
shoot up into the air a vivid, quivering column of flame, and 
poising itself in awful nuijesty, hurl itself l)odily several hundred 
feet and kindle new buildings. The intense heat created new 
cun-ents of air. The general direction of the wind was from the 
southwest. This main current carried the tire straight throufj-li 
the city, trom southwest to north-east, cutting a swath a mile in 
width, and then, as if maddened at missing any of its prey, it 
would turn backwjird in its frenzy and face the tierce wind, mow- 
ing one liage tield on the west of the jV^orth Division, while in 
the South Division it also doubled on its track at the great Un- 
ion Central Depot, and burned half a mile southward in the 
Tery teeth of the gale— a gale which blew a perfect toriuido, and 
in which no vessel could have lived on the lake. The flames 
sometimes made glowing diagonal arches across tlie streets, trav- 
ersed by whirls of smoke. At times, the wind woidd seize the 
entire volume of tire on the front of one of the large blocks, de- 
tach it entirely and hurl it in everv direction, in tierce masses of 
flame, leaving tlie building as if it had been untouched — for an 
instant ordy, however, for fresh gusts would once more wrap 
them in sheets of tire. The whole air was tilled with glowing 
cinders, looking like an ilhiminated snow storm. At times ca- 
pricious flurries of the gale would seize these flying messengers 
of destruction and dash them down to the earth, liurrying them 
over the pavements, with lightning-like rapidity, tiring every- 
thing they touched. Interspersed among these cinders were 
larger brands, covered with flame, which the wind dashed 
through windows and upon awnings and roofs, kindling new 
tires. Strange, fantastic tires of blue, red and green, played 
4dong the cornices of the buildings. On the banks of the river, 



464 The Great Fire of' 1871. 

rod hot walls fell his.sin<j^ into the water, sending np <>;reat col- 
umns of spray and exposino^ the tierce white furnace of heat^ 
which they had enclosed. The huge ])iles of coal emitted dense 
hillows of snu)ke which liurried ah)ng far al)ove the Hames he- 
h)W. If the sight was grand and over[)owering, the sound was- 
no less so. The Hames crackled, y;r(,)w]ed <ind hisse(L The lime 
stone, of which many of, the l)uildings were composed, as soon 
as it was exposed to lieat tiaked off, the fragments llew in every 
direction, with a noise like that of continuo'.is discliarges of mus- 
ketry. Almost every instant was added the dull, lieavy thud of 
falling walls, which shook the earth. But ahove all these sounds, 
there was one other which was terril:)ly fascinating; it was the 
steady roar of tlie advancing tiames — the awful diapason in this 
carnival of lire. It was like nothing so much as the united roar 
of the ocean with the howl of the blast on s(jme stormy, rocky 
coast. 

Great calamities always develop latent passions, emotions, and 
traits of chai'acter, hitherto concealed. In this case, there was a 
world-wide difference in the manner in which men witnessed the 
destruction of all about them. Some Wore philosophical, even 
merry, and witnessed the loss of their own property with a calm, 
shrug of the shoublers, although the loss w'as to bring upv)n 
them irretrievable ruin. Others clenched their teeth towther, 
and witnessed the sight with a sort of grim defiance. Others,, 
who were strong men, stood in tears, and some became tairly 
frenzied with excitement and rushed about in an aimless manner, 
doing exactly what they would not have done in their cooler mo- 
ments, and almost too delirious to save their own lives from the 
general wreck. Of course, the utmost disorder and excitement 
prevailed, for nearlj' every one was in some, degree demoralized, 
and in the absence both of gas and water, had given np the en- 
tire city to its doom. Mobs of men and women rushed wildly 
from street to street, screaming, gesticulating, and shouting, 
crossing each others ]>aths, and intercei)ting each other as if just 
esca])'ed from a mad house. The yards aiul sidewalk of Michi- 
gan and Wabash avenues for a distance of two miles south of the 
tire limit in the !S<>utli Division, were choked with hout^ehold 
goods of every description— the contents of hovels, and the con- 
tents of aristocratic residences, huddled together in inextrica- 
ble confusion. Elegant ladies who hardly sui)i)osed themselves 
able to lift the weight of a pincushion, astonislied tlu^mselves ])y 
dragging trunks, and carrying heavy loads of pictures and orna- 
mental furniture for a long distance. Some adorned themselves 
with all their jewelry, for the purpose of saving it, and strug- 
gled along through the crowds, perhaps only to lose it at the 
hands of some rutHan. Delicate girls, with red eves and black- 



Thi Great Kin: of 1S71. Mu> 

cned faces, toiled, hour after liour, to save hon^oliokl goodh^. 
Poor vvomen stai>'gered a!oii<^ with tlieir arms full of hoiucly 
liouseliold wares, and mattre.sses on tlieir lieads, wliicli sometimes 
took tire as they were carrying tliem. Every few steps along the 
avenues were little piles of household property, or, perhaps, only 
a trunk, guarded l>y children, some of whom were weeping, and 
others laughing and playing. Here was a man sitting upon 
wliat lie had saved, bereft of his senses, looking at the motley 
throng with staring, vacant eyes; here, a wonum, weeping and 
tearing her hair, and calling tor her children in utter despair; 
here, children, hand-in-hand, separated from their parents, and 
crying with the heart-breaking sorrow of childhood; liere, a wo- 
man, kneeling on the hot ground, and praying, with her crueiiix 
before her. One family had saved a C(-)fiee-pot and chest of draw- 
ers, and raking, together the falling embers in the street, were 
boiling their coffee as cheerily as if at home. Barrels of liq.uov 
were rolled into the streets from the saloons. The heads were 
speedily knocked in, and men and boys drank to excess, and 
staggered about the streets. Some must have miseraldy perished 
in the flames, while others wandered away into the unburned dis- 
trict, and slept a drunken sleep upon the sidewalks and in dcor- 
yards. Thieves ])ursued their profession with pei-fect impunitv. 
Lake street and Clark street were rich with treasure, and hordes 
of tfhieves entered the stores, and flung out goods to their fel- 
lows, who bore them away without opposition. Wabash avenue 
was literally choked up with goods of every description. Everv 
one who had l)een forced from the burning portion of the divis- 
ion had brought some articles with them, and been forced to 
drop some, or all oi them. Valuable oil paintings, bo»ks, pet 
animals, instruments^, toys, mirrors, bedding, and ornamental and 
useful articles of every kind, were tram})led under foot by the 
hurrying crowds. The streets leading southward from the tire 
were jammed witli vehicles of every description, all driven alono* 
at top speed. J^ot only the goods which were deposited in the 
streets took fire, but wagon loads of stuff in transit, also kindled, 
and the drivers were obliged to cut the traces to save tlie animals. 
There Avas fire overhead, everywhere, not only on the low, red 
clouds, which rolled along the roofs, but in the air itself, filled 
with millions of blazing fagots, that carried destruction where\'er 
they fell. Those who did. rescue anything from the burninor 
buildings, were obliged to defend it at the risk of their lives. 
Expressmen and owners of every description of wagons, w^ere 
extortionate in their demands, asking from twenty to fifty dollars 
for conveying a small hxid a few l)locks. Even then tliere was 
no surety that the goods would reach their place of destination, 
as they were often followed by howling crowds, who woul<l 



40G The Great Fire of 1G71. 

«ii!itcli tlio n'oods from tlu' wui^oiis. Sonictimes, thieves got ])os- 
sessioii of vcliicles, and drove off witli rich loads of dry goods, 
jeweh-y, or Inercliaiidise, to out-of-tlie-way places." 

As early as tlii'oe o'clock, on the; morning of the Otli, the fire 
iittacked the North Side. It lias not been delinitely known 
where it tirst hegan, hnt it is certain that the Water Works, a 
mile distant from any ])ortion of the hlazing Sonth Side, were 
among tli(> lirst huildings visited; and tlicii- speedy dostrnction, 
(Mitting oir tlio water su[)ply, all hopes of extingnishing the lire 
tied. I'wo large elevators on the north bank of the river were 
also in lla-mes immediately afterwards, and the wretched inhab- 
itants li\ iiig cast of Franklin sti'ct't, beheld witli dismay the ap- 
])roaeli of the destroyer both in tVont and reai-. Suddenly the 
entii'o po|)ulation seized the most valuable things they could 
cari-y, ami lied, cillicr to the lake shore, or westward across the 
]M\('i, or diivcth' before tlio pursuing cncmv, northwardly out 
(.Jlark or Wells Street. Says Mr. Colbert: 

"A terrible panic ensued. There was sudden screaming and 
dashing about, of half-chul women, gathei'ing u|» such valuables 
as could be suddenly siiat-ehed. There was frantic rushing into 
the streets and shouting tor vehicles. There was anxious iiupiiry 
and anon distressc^d cries for absent ])rotectors — a large portion 
of the nu'U being on the far sidt^ of the river, and in many cases 
uiud)le to reach their homes. Then there was a pell-mell rush 
thi-ough the strecits, some of the wild faces pushing eagerly in 
this dii-(H'tion and others (piite as eagerly in the o])])osite; and 
childi'cn screaming; and shouts resouiuling; and brands falling 
in showeivs; and truidcmi'n I'unning each other down; and half- 
drunken, wholly des]>ei'ate rullians peering into <loors and seizing 
valuables, and insulting women; and oaths from lips unused to 
them, as hot as the llames which leaped and crackled near by; 
and ])rayers from manly breasts where; they ha<l shnnbi'red since 
<'hildhood; and eveiy other sign of turmoil and tei-ror." 

Thosc^ who took I'ofuge on the sands of the lake-shore, tbund 
it a treacherous asylum. There was no escape to the northward, 
for the narrow ])asses farther in that direction were a sweltering 
<'urrent of hot air pouring o\er the crested margin of the lake, 
iikt; the vomitinir of a furnace.. Meantinu; the heat soon began 
to be almost insuppoi'table wher(> they were, and in this extrein- 
ity, at places, they were forced into the shallow waters of the lake 
to protect themselves from burning till they could l)e rescued in 
boats. 

J)y tour o'clock in the afternoon of the Otli, the "tire had burned 
out. Its ]>rogress against the wind on the South Side was ar- 
rested by thcctlbrts of ])rivate citizens and a snuUl military force 
nnder (ien. Siu'rhlan; but on the North Side it burned as long 



The Great Fire of 1871. 467 

asbnildini^.s stood l)etbre it, and died away on the o]»cn ])rairie for 
want of fuel. 

In its early stages, after the Hames had crossed the river, and 
were ranidly devouring the business ])ortion of the city in the 
■South Division, Lind Block, on the west side of Market Street, 
l>etween Randol))h and Lake, by dint of great exertion on the ]iai't 
of tsonie of its tenants, successfully resisted them. The well- 
known house of Fuller & Fuller, occupied tlie central portions of 
this block; and in reply to the wi-iter's in(iuiry how it was sav(^d. 
Ml'. O. 1*\ Fuller stated that while the lire was bui'ning on the 
West Side, and a])pr(taching towards them, they took the precau- 
tion to provide an abundant supply of water on each floor of 
their ])remises, and constantly applied it to the most exposed 
portions of the building when the tire reached their immediate 
viciinty, having ])revioiisly cut away wooden signs or any other 
cond)Ustil)le material outside. During the greatest heat, the 
•outside walls of the block were too hot to bear the liand on, but 
.still every man remained at his post inside on each floor, subject 
to the order ot' a sentinel, whose business it was to call them 
away if the building ignited. Three times a retreat was ordered, 
under an iiripression that combustion had taken ])lace, but ha])- 
])ily this impression was a false alarm, growing out of the lurid 
glare from adjacent flames, reflected from the windows of the 
building, and each time the men returned to their posts, where 
they continued to ply water to the heated windows, while was 
raging 

" Fire to right of tliem, 
Fire to left of tliom, 
Fire in front of them." 

Said Mr. Fuller: "Tlie Are, viewed from the roof of Lind Block 
at this time, presented ])hases of thrilling interest. At two o'clock 
a.m., Market street and the a])]n-oaches to Lake and Randolph 
street bridges were crowded witii loaded vehicles hurrying to the 
West Side, and this retreat grew into a stam]»ede when theCJai'- 
den (Jity hotel, and the buildings on the Kast side of Market 
■street, from Madison to South Water, ignited. After burning 
flercely for but a brief space of time, they fell in tptick succession 
in the general ruin." 

The next morning when the light of the sun was piercing 
through the smoke a,nd flames that now enshrouded the entire 
l)nsiness portion of the South Division, there stood Lind Block, 
;i solitai\y relict of its former grandeur. Beyond it, toward the 
East, the eye could catch transicjnt glimpses of many a gi'im 
old ruin in its ragged deformity, amidst the accuinidating 
clouds of smoke that rose to the sky in dissolving forms, and told 



468 TU Great Fire of 1S7L 

the tale of destruction. Besides Liiid Block in the South .Division,, 
tlie liouse of Mahlon B. Ogden, in the central track of the tire 
in the JSorth Division, was saved, while all else around it was- 
left in ashes. 

Mr. Ogden, shortly after the fire, informed the writer- that In- 
remained in his house as long as he could without being sur- 
rounded by fire, when he, Avith his family, retreated with tlitr 
crowd; but that he kept the roof of his house covered with M^et 
carpets while he was in it, and it being in the inside of a square.. 
with trees all around, as if by a miracle it did not burn. 

No attempt will here be made to record personal incidents <-)\ 
the lire. These are almost infinite, and their records may be 
found in the several large volumes published immediately after 
the fire, but the following account of the action of the city au- 
thorities, taken from the Report of the Chicago Relief and Aid 
Society, is an historical document M-hich shows the elastic force 
of tlie people of Chicago in their promptness to grapple with the 
duties before them: 

" The homeless people of the South Side were for the most. 
part received into the abodes of their more fortunate neighbors,. 
or taken to the hearts and hospitalities of those to whom a day 
before they were utter strangers, without formalities or ceremonies, 
for a kindred sorrow which had left no human interest untouched 
had done its work. 

" Those of the North Division had betaken themselves for the- 
night to the sands of the lake shore, to Lincoln and other small 
parks, and the Jprairies. Comparatively few had found shelter 
for the night. 

" Those of the "West Division who were left homeless were for 
the most part sheltered in the churches and school-houses, and 
on the prairies on the northwest of the city. Comparatively few 
of those who had fled before the flames, had tasted food since- 
early Sunday evening, and hunger came to them to add its terrors- 
to those of exposure, and in many instances apprehension ot 
death. 

" And then came the greatest terror of all, the consciousness of 
the fact that families had been separated; husbands and wives, 
parents and children were missing. The flight had been so 
rapid, and in all directions the thoroughfares, had been so ob- 
structed, and in some cases utterly impassable, by the crowding 
of vehicles and masses of people, and the city itself a wave of 
Are — it is no marvel that under these circumstaiices, thousands 
for the time were lost sight of, and became lonely wanderers, and 
that hundreds perished in the flames. 

"The seeds of permanent or temporary disease sown, the bodily 
suftering and mental anguish endured, can never have statistical 
computation, <.)r adequate description. 



The Great Fire of 1871. 469 

"The bodies of the dead, not less than thi-ee hundred in nniiiber, 
Avlio perished in the flames, were given interment at the county 
hurvino- ground. 

''The city authorities were promj)t in their endeavors to on no- 
order out of the chaos which, in some measure, we have assayed 
to describe. Tl\e Mayor telegraphed to neighboring cities, first 
of all, for engines to help stay the ravages of the lire, and for 
bread to feed the homeless and destitute." 

A council of city officers was held, who issued and signed the 
following, which was the flrst proclamation from the Mayor and 
Gjovernment: 

PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas, In llic providence of God, to Avhose will we humbly submit, a 
'lerriblc calamity lias tjefalleu our city, which demands of us our best efforts for 
the preservation of order and the relief of suffering: 

Be it known, That the faith and credit of (he city of Chicago are hereby 
pledged for the necessar}^ expenses for tlie relief of tiie suffering. 

Public order will be preserved. The police and speci.d police now being ap- 
pointed will be responsible for the mainteuance of the peace and the protectiou 
■of property. 

All officers and men of the Fire Department and Health Department will act 
4is special policemen without further notice. 

The Mayor and Comptroller will give vouchers for all supplies furnished by 
the difierent relief committees. 

The headcpiarters of the City Government will be at the Congregational 
'Church, corner of West Washington and Ann streets. 

All persons are wai'ned against any act tending to endanger property. Per- 
sons caught in any depredation will be immediately arrested. 

With the help of God, order and peace and private properly will be pre- 
.iserved. 

The City Government and the committee of citizens pledge themselves to the 
community to protect them, and prepare the way for a restoration of public 
..and private welfare. 

It is believed the fire has spent its force, -and all will soon be well. 

K. B. Mason, Mayor. 
Geokge Taylor, Comptroller. 

(By R. B. Mason.) 
Chahi.es C. P. Holden, President Conrraon Council. 
T. B. Bkown, President Board of Police. 

October 9, 1871, 2 p. m. 

Promptly following the above proclamation, and growing out 
•of the exigencies of the day, or the hour, as it came, otliers were 
issued; and no better account of the action of the municipal gov- 
ernment can be given than that which is contained in these sev- 
eral official papers, aiul therefore, without comment, Avbich would 
be needless, the text of these proclamations, which in some in- 
stances were only fly-sheets, is herein given. 

BREAD ORDINANCE.— NOTICE. 

Chk'Aoo, October 10, 1871. 
The following ordinance was passed at a mcf ling of the Common Council of 
Ihe city of Chicago, on the 10th day of October, A. I)., ISTl : 



470 The Great Fire of 1871. 

An Ordinance 

Be it ordained by the Common Council of the City of Chicago: — 

Section 1. That the price of bread in the City of Chicago for the next ten- 
days is hereby fixed and established at elgld (8) cents per tor;/ of twelve ounces^ 
and at the same rate for all loaves of less or greater weight. 

Sec. 2. Any person .selling or attempting to sell any bread within the limits 
of the City of Chicago, witliin said ten days, at a greater price than is fixed in 
tins ordinance, shall be liable to a jK'nalty of ten (10) dollars for each and every 
offense, to be collected as other penalties for violation of City Ordinances. 

Sec. 3. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its 
passage. 

Approved October 10, 1871. 

Attest: R. B. MASON, Mayor. 

C. T. HoTciiKiss, Gity Clerk. 

MAYOR'S PROCLAMxVTION— ADVISORY AND PRECAUTIONARY. 

1. All citizens are requested to exercise great caution in the use of fire iu 
their dwellings, and not to use kerosene lights at i)resent, as the city will be 
without a full supi)ly of water for jiroljably two or three days. 

2. The following" bridges are passable, to wit: All bridges (except Van Bu- 
r(;n and xVdams streets) from Lake Street south, and all bridges over the Norlli 
Branch of the Chicago River. 

3. All good citizens who are willing to serve are requested to report at the 
corner of Ann and Washington streets, to be sworn in as special policemen. 

Citizens are re(pieste<l to organize a police for each block in the city, and to 
.send reports of such organization to the police hea^lquarters, corner of Union 
and West Madison streets. 

All persons needing food will be relieved by applyiug at the following: 
places: — 

At the corner of Ann and Washington ; Illinois Central Railroad Round- 
house. 

M. S. R. R. — Twenty-second Street station. 

C. B. & Q R. I?.— Canal Street Depot. 

St. L. & A. R. R.— Near Sixteenth Street. 

C. & N. W. R. R. — Corner of Kinzie and Canal streets. 

All the public school-houses, and at nearly all the churches. 

4. Citizens are requested to avoid passing through the burnt districts until 
the dangerous walls left standing can be levciled. 

5. All saloons are ordered to be closed at !) p. m. every day for one week, 
under a jienalty of forfeiture of license. 

(!. The Common Council have this day by ordinance fixed the price; of bread 
at eight (8) cents per loafof twelve ounces, and at the same rate for loaves of a less 
or greater weight, and affixed a penalty of ten dollars for selling, or attempting 
to sell, bread at a greater rate within tlu' next ten days. 

7. Any hacknian, expressman, drayman, or teamster charging more than the 
regular fare, will have his license revoked. 

All citizens are re([uested to aid in preserving the jieace, good order, and 
good name of our city. 

Oct. 10, 1871. R. B. MASON, Mayor. 

In addition to the action of the city antliorities, Lieut. General 
P. II. Sheri(hin, whose military headcjiiarters were liere, at the ear- 
nest request of Mr. Mason, the Mayor,and many prominent citizen& 
of Chicago, consented to dechire martial law for the ]>reservation! 
of order throughout the city, ns Avell as to protect from tire what 
remained of it, and on the 11th of October a proclamation was. 



The Great Fire of 1S7L 471 

issued by liiiu to tliis effect. Two duys ])revioiis to this, wliile 
tlie lire was still spreading on the North Side, he had ordered a 
company of frontier soldiers from Fort Leavenworth, Kan., to 
be sent Ijy rail to Chicago, and as soon as thpy arrived tliej were 
detailed in squads of about twenty each to guard the various 
places along the outer edge of the burnt district that needed pro- 
tection. Throughout the South Division burnt, were many bank 
vaults still buried l)eneath heated bricks and stone, in an uncertain 
condition. At night the soldiers detailed to guard these were 
quartered on the premises of Messrs. Fuller & Fuller, which had 
been saved from the general wreck as already told. And in con- 
versation with Mr. Fuller, the informant of the writer, as to the 
fidelity with which they executed their trust, the praise which he 
gave these noble soldiers should not be omitted. They were 
strictly temperate, many of them teetotalers, and some of them 
old weather-beaten veterans as noble in sentiment as thev were 
brave and faithful, and an honor to the country in whose service 
they had enlisted. The debt of gratitude which Chicago owes 
them challenges this acknowledgement. 

The extent of the lire may be summed up in the following 
statement, which has been carefully taken from various records 
of the event: On the West Side, the l)urnt district measured 
194 acres, and the number of burnt buildings was about 500, 
most of them being of an interior class. 

In the South Division 460 acres were burned over, on which 
stood 3,650 buildings, which constituted substantially the lianks, 
wholesale stores, hotels, and the general heavy business ])]ocks 
of the city included, with many of its first-class private dwell- 
ings, added to which was a district in the southwest portion, 
where many poor people lived. In the North Division 1,470 
acres were burnt over, and 18,300 buildings destroyed, leaving 
but about four per cent of thti buildings standing in the entire 
division, and those of the poorest class. The total number of 
acres burnt over was 2,124, and of l)uildings destroyed aljoiit 
17,450. About 100,00() people were rendered homeless, which 
included guests at hotels and boarding-houses. Of these, 
some thousands were gathered in srpiads on the prairies outside 
the city on the morning of the 9th, and not a few made the 
earth their bed on the night of the loth. Every train of rail- 
road cars that left the city for several days was loaded to its ut- 
most with the fugitives. Tlie most of them had no means where- 
with to pay their fare. In such cases, the railroad companies, 
with exemplary generosity, carried them free till the Ilelief and 
Aid Society had organized, to n'lake provision for the sufferers 
On the 10th relief began to come in from the country towns near 
by. Never before had their sympathies been so awakened. 



472 Tin' Gi',',it Fir,' of 1S7L 

Motliers, in their imagination, heard little children crying for 
hread on the open prairie, and saw whole families lying on the 
ground, bereft of everything hut natnral claims on humanity, 
and the next trains that went to the city were loaded with free 
bread, milk, blaidcets, and such other things as the body staiids 
most in need of when stripped of everything but its wants. 

To detail all the means used to i-elleve the immediate) wants of 
the victims would be inconsistent with time, and space to record 
them. It was. one of those great waves that roll over mankind, 
burying them so deep beneath its crest as to drown out seltish- 
ness for the time, and open an unfrequented path to many hearts. 
Dormant passions and affections were awakened into being, that 
else miifht have slumbered aiul died ere thev had blossomed into 
life and l)eauty. Like a Hash, the cry of distress M'ent through 
the world, and gathered force as it traveled. News of the de- 
struction of armies in one great chasm of death had been told 
before till recitals of such events palled upon the senses; but this 
was a great social disaster, visited w^on effeminate grace and 
beauty, quick and sudden, dashing ambition to the ground, and 
withering life's sweetest hopes; sundering the dearest associations 
and robbing the heart of home treasures, so highly prized by the 
most relined peojde. 

From St. Louis, Cincinnati, Detroit, IS^ew York, Boston, and 
.nearlv all the laro-e cities of the United States, and from many 
cities in England, Germany and France, came prompt reliet. 
The most of the cash sent from these places was taken into the 
custody of the Chicago Relief and Aid Society, and by them dis- 
pensed to the sufferers with as provident a care as could have 
been expected under such a pressure. 

The amcuints contributed from the world, (the great field of 
charity for this occasion), was but little short of $3,000,000. The 
number of lives lost in the fire can never be told. It has been 
estimated to exceed 30<). The charred renuiins of many were 
found, but no such number as this. 

The amount of property destroyed in the fire, by a careful es- 
timate by Elias Colbert, was ^1 1)2,000,000. Not inore than one- 
fourth of this was covered by insurance, and of the amounts in- 
sured, not more than fifty per cent was paid, some insurance 
companies not paving more than ten per cent, while others paid 
in full. 

Tiie heads of families and l)usiness portion of the hundred 
thousand victims of the fire nniy be divided into several classes. 
The portion of them whose wealth was in stocks or bonds had 
lost nothing but their ink-stands and writing-desks, and the op- 
j)ortunities now offered for speculation, seemed to give promise 
of an abundant harvest out of the situation. Of the merchants 



473 The Great Fire of 187L 

vlui had botli capital and credit yet in reserve, to begin anew, a 
pi'ospect opened for business perha])s never before equaled. To 
tliose merchants who had lost everything-, little consolation could 
come, and yet many of these, availing themselves of an untar- 
jiished reputation, immediately began again on credit, and not a 
feu' of them made a success of it. Out of the recoil that came 
fi-om such an overwhelming calamity quickly sprang up a buoy- 
ant feeling in the minds of everyone. N^o timid counsels pre- 
vailed. I^ech'vivus M''Si& the watchword. Dimension stone, brick, 
mortar, lime, marble, red sandstone, granite, cement, iron pillars, 
girders, floor tile, sand, glass, joist, scantling and boards were at 
a ])remium. Autumn hung on into the winter months, and fire- 
pi-oof buildings sprang up rapidly amidst the desolations of the 
buiMit district. Meantime, while these were in course of construc- 
tion, every era2>ty place on the West Side, and far out in the 
South Division, was rented at high figures, and frequently might 
be found the most enterprising merchants doing business in'some 
dingy, cavernous quarters on the West Side, that for years before 
the lire had grown moldy for the Avant of tenants. For several 
jnunths, Canal street, between Lake and Madison, was the center 
of business. Here the newspapers set up their presses, and by 
dint of courage and resolution to be found nowhere outside of 
•Chicago, soon reproduced their respective sheets, undiminished 
in size and unctions with grit. All the while capital flowed into 
Chicago, and the building mania was at fever heat. Nobody 
seemed to think it could be overdone. They did not stop to con- 
sider that the improved class of buildings which were being sub- 
stituted for the old ones would aflbrd convenience and room for 
a greatly increased amount of business. Add to this the extra 
room for business where private houses had been burnt, close by 
the business portions of Chicago, which would never be replaced, 
on account of their proxinnty to the turmoil of a commercial 
emporium, and it is not strange that an unnecessarily large area 
was left open for the wants of business. These conditions caused 
a temporary lull in building up the burnt district after the work 
had been going on two years, for which reason there are still 
(18S1) many vacant lots where the moldering M'alls of old build- 
ings, burnt in the Are, stand as reminders of the event; but no 
great length of time can now transpire till the recent increasing 
demand fur more stores and offices, as well as a demand beyond 
the present supply for private dwellings, will not only All up va- 
cant lots in the burnt district, but enlarge the area of the city. 



474 Grammar of Names. 



GRAMMAR OF AMERICAN NAMES. 

When we look over the map of Asia, except in Asia Minor, 
the cradle of Christianity, we see few names of which the ordi- 
nary English scholar knows their derivation or their history, but 
on the map of Europe, especially in England, the case is differ- 
ent; for here grew up a civilization directly inherited from 
Grecian, Roman, Norman, Saxon, Magyar and Celtic sources, 
and its proper names have tlieir origin from history and biogra- 
phy, familiar to all who are well read in our popular literature. 
Hence ihe eye rests with far more interest on the map of Europe 
than that of Asia, and the memory is less tasked to retain names 
on the former than the latter. 

Turning from both of these to the Map of America, the mind of 
the American scholar is delighted with the sight of household 
nomenclature, comparatively speaking, as the versatile sources 
from which our geographical names have been drawn comprise 
the most familiar names of Grecian and Roman antiquity, as 
well as from ancient Britian, medieval and modern English 
sources; to which may be added names to perpetuate the mem- 
ory of the Fathers of our Republic, and battle-Helds of American 
pride. Besides all these, our numerous names uf Indian origin, 
ricli in native beauty, the chief value of which grows out of the 
fact that they give us a key to meanings attached to free and easy 
vocal utterances, or, in other words, to natural language. School- 
craft, as well as others who have studied Indian language, state 
that it admits of a perfect grammatical analysis, and that it ex- 
presses social conditions and affections with much impressment, 
free from hyperbole or affectation. Of course it is destined soon 
to become extinct, but while this is true, let us cherish what re- 
mains of it in its a])plication to our geography, and our history 
especially, as it has imparted to it a touch of vocal harmony not 
found in the grammatical geogra])hy of any other country, and 
it is not too much to say that in no part of America have so 
many Indian names been retained as in the North AVest; and, to 
make the most of these valuable relics, the following article from 
Mr. Haines, who has given this subject considerable attention^ 
has been solicited: 



Indian Names. 475 



INDIAN NAMES. 

BY E. M. HAINES. 

Whilst the red race of North America arc fast disappearing 
before the march of civilization, they have left to lis a perpetual 
reminder of their former presence in the land through the multi- 
tude of local names applied to rivers, lakes, towns, counties, 
states, and localities of various descriptions, the origin and 
meaning of which is becoming a subject of interesting inquiry. 

In preparing an article on this subject, at the request of Miv 
Blanchard, for his work concerning the discovery and conquests 
of the Northwest, I can onlv regret that other encrafjements have 
prevented me from pursuing the subject to that extent and as 
fully as its importance would seem to demand. I came to Chi- 
cago in early youth, while the country about was still in posses- 
sion of the native inhabitants. The Indian lan£rua£re was heard 
m every direction, and Avas indeed the prevailing language. The- 
principal trade was with the Indians, in conducting which their 
language was the medium of communication. Tliis afforded me 
an opportunity of satisfying a boyish curiosity of learning some- 
thing of this language as spoken by the Pottawattomies, then 
the prevailing tribe in the vicinity, which in after life led to a 
more full investigation into the various Indian languages of the 
country. 

The popular idea is that these Indian names, or those which: 
are taken to be such, are genuine names and possess some oppro- 
priate signification; but wlioever will take the trouble- to investi- 
gate in this regard, will find much in this notion that is erroneous. 
This not being a written language, there is wanting a permanent 
standard of pronunciation ; hence, in transferring Indian names 
into our literature they have been liable to undergo material 
changes in their sounds, so much so in a large proportion of in- 
stances, tliat the original intention can scarcely be determined 
with any degree of certainty. xVs an example in this resj)ect, an 
instance is afibrded, among others, concerning the name of a 
locality on the southern border of Lake Superior, where a point 
of land extends into the "lake for a distance beyond wliicli the- 
water is shoal, which the Indians call SJui-ga-ioaum-ic-ong from 
Sha-ga-ioaum-ic, a shoal point in the water. This word, passing^ 
through the French into our language, became Chequamegony 
and tlie place is so called at this day, -which is not an Indian 
word, and has no element whatever of an Indian M'ord, except a3- 



4TG Indian Names. 

to tiie syllable che, which is a familiar prefix in the Algonquin 
language. 

In like manner, as before remarked, a large proportion of our 
i=o-callecl Indian geographical names, have undergone such 
changes that they" can scarcely be recognized as Indian word's 
in their present form. In this connection, before proceeding 
further, it is proper to state that it is not intended in this brief 
article to pursue a general enquiry as to Indian names extending 
over the continent, but the held will be limited to our more im- 
mediate vicinity in the North- West. 

In pursuing this subject intelligently, it is proper first to class- 
ify the various groups of native inhabitants as nearly as may be, 
•so far as they are marked by a common or generic language. 
These were the Algonquin, Iroquois, Appalachian, Dakota and 
Shoshonee, Each of these were divided into tril^es or families, 
speaking difl:erent dialects of the common language, by which 
the main group was distinguished. In this division of tribes they 
resembled the ancient Jews. 

The Algonquins inhabited the country extending from I^ova 
Scotia south to the James River, thence west to the mouth of the 
Ohio, and from thence northward to Hudsons Bay, excepting that 
portion on the south and east of Lake Ontario, since comprised 
witliin the State of New York, which was occupied by the Iro- 
•quois. 

The Appalachians occupied that portion of the country 
south of the Algonquins, and east of the Mississippi. The 
Dakotas, called by the French Sioux, occupied a district of coun- 
try west of the Mississippi and north of the Missouri and Platte 
Rivers. The country south and west of them was occupied by 
the Shoshonees. 

Thus, in tracing the origin or in arriving at the meaning of In- 
dian names, we have first to determine from which language of 
the several groups they are derived, and through what particular 
dialect they are produced. 

Among the tribes east of the Rocky Mountains, the Algon- 
q^uin language as spoken by the Ojibway nation, was regarded 
as the court language, so that when a person fell among a strange 
tribe, wliose language he did not understand, if he spoke this lan- 
guage, they were bound as a general rule, to furnish some one who 
who could communicate with him in that language. It was 
through this language, that Marquette spoke with all the tribes, 
on his route froin Montreal to the Des Moines, and so it was with 
all these early French travellers, including LaHontan, who pro- 
ceeded, as we may believe from his narrative, far up the Platte 
river. Thus the language of the Algonquins became in one sense 
die universal language of the continent; whereby it happens 



Indian Names. -iTT 

that a large proportion of our Lulian geographical names are de- 
rived trorn that source. Hence it may be proper to give in this 
connection some general suggestions in regard to this language. 

According to the Ojibway standard only seventeen letters are 
required to write correctly and plainly all the words in this ex- 
pressive language. These letters are divided into vowels and 
consonants. There are only four vowels, «, ^, i, o. This language 
has properly no u. There are thirteen consonants, namely : b, 
c, d, g, h, j, k, m, n, p, s, t, w. The following consonants, f, 1, 
q, r, V, X, z, never occur in the words of this language. So any 
word stated to be an Indian word, if it comprises any of the last 
mentioned letters, it can be set down for certain tJiat it is not an 
Algonquin word, and the chances are that it is not a genuine 
Indian word,_but a corruption of an Indian word. The French,, 
as a general thing, in writing and speaking this language, sub- 
stituted the letter I for that of n^ as in the word MihoauMe^. 
which should properly h^Minwaiikie. It is stated, however, that 
four tribes of the Algonquin group — the Lenni Lenapes, or - 
Delawares, the Sacs, Foxes' and Shawnees — had in their dialect 
the sound of I. 

In constructing words in this language, it is required tliat a 
consonant should precede or follow a vowel, except in dissyllables 
wherein two consonants are sounded in juxtaposition, as in mxik- 
huh, a box, and as-sin^ a stone; the utterances in these cases being, 
confluent. But in longer compounds this juxtaposition is gener- 
ally avoided by throwing in a vowel, for the sake of euphony, as 
in the term Assinehicoin, the ^ in which is a mere connective, 
and has no meaning by itself. ISIor is it allowable, in general, 
for vovA'els to follow eacli otlier in syhabication. Tlie plural of 
animate names is marked by adding the letter g. Thus, manlto^ 
a spirit; plural, nianitog. Tho plural of inanimate names is 
iT\arked by the letter n added; thus, abwi, a paddle; plural, abwin. 
This termination, however, is varied by vowels preceding the fi- 
nal letter forming the plural, according to circumstances. 

In pursuing Indian getigraphical names, it is noticeable that 
in general the names are derived from the language of the tribes 
who inhabited that part of the country where such names are 
found. In many instances, however, these nanies have been car- 
ried by emigrants from their appropriate locality to other parts 
of the country. But as a general rule such names serve to 
mark the former locality of Indian tribes speaking the language 
from which they are derived; as in the State of XewYork, which 
abounds in Indian names, and reminds us that here once lived 
the Iroquois nation. 

ISTot only are the people, who have succeeded the native tribes, 
in complete ignorance of the origin and meaning of the names. 



47S Indian Names. 

"they have left us to designate, rivers, towns, and localities, but 
they are unaware of the fact that very many names we are now 
iTsiiio;, which we suppose to come from other sources, are also, 
Indian names, or derived therefrom. Of the thirty-eight States 
of the Union, eighteen have Indian names, as follows': Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, 
Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Mis- 
sissippi, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon, which in 
general, are derived .from great rivers or other "waters. 

In pursuing this subject, there is one thing with which we 
have to deal wherein at this time we can obtain no satisfactory 
aid in case of doubt or uncertainty. We frequently find Indian 
words where the same sounds occur, from two or moi'e difterent 
languages or dialects, with entirely different meanings; so, what 
may have been the original intention in giving tire name, or 
from which language or dialect the word is deriv^ed, cannot be 
stated. In such cases, conjecture only can be given. The word 
Chicago, or that wdiicli is essentially the same, is found in several 
different languages, with entirely different meanings. 

In the following list of Indian names, we will, for convenience, 
use abbreviations to some extent, thus: Alg.^ for Algonquin, 
Irq., for Iroquois, Ajpl., for Appalachian, Dah., for Dakota. 

Akkansaw — A town in Wisconsin; given b}' the French as 
Arkansas; applied to a tribe of Indians in the vicinity of a river 
of that name flowing into the Mississippi from the west. Hen- 
nepin speaks of these Indians as the Kansas, the signification 
of which is not given. It is said that the}^ made a superior kind 
of bow^s for shooting, the material being of a peculiar kind of 
wood growing in that country, hence they were called "Arc- 
kansas," pronounced Arkansaw. By some, called " the bow In- 
dians." 

AsuKUM — Alg. — A town in Illinois; more and more. Thus 
Ashkwn-ahkoose, he is getting wo]-se (more sick.) Ashkum 
Wahishkah, it is getting whiter. 

Ahnapee — Alg. — A town in Wisconsin, when, when is if. 

Allamakee {An-a-ma-kee) — Ag. — A county in Iowa. Thun- 
der. 

Algonquin. — A town in Illinois. The name of one of the 
principal groups of North American Indians, given to them by 
the French. Its meaning is in some doubt. It is derived from 
the Algonquin language, and is said to mean, ])eo]^le of the 
otlier side, or ojyjyosite shore. 

Algonac. — A town in Michigan. Pertaining to Algonquin. 
Place of th e Algonquins. 

Anoka — Alg. — A town in Minnesota. lie icorks, or "a busy 
■place." 



Indian Names. -i'** 

Anamosa.. — Alcj. — A town in Iowa. You ivalk from me^ 
or, perhaps, from An-a-mosh, "a dog-." 

Appanoose — Alg. — A town in Illinois. Kame of an Indian 
chief of the Fox tribe. The (jrandcldld. 

Cayuga {Gice-u-gweli) — Irq. — A town in Illinois, Ifiicky- 
land; from a tribe of Indians in Xew York of the Iroquois nation; 
they were called Gioe-u-gweh-o-no, "People of the Mucky land." 

Chebanse — Alg. — A town in Illinois; Little Duck, from an 
Indian chief of that name. 

Cheisiung — Irq. — A town in Illinois; from a river- of that 
name in New York, signifying Ing /ior^i, so named by the Indians 
from finding in the bed of the river a fossil elephant's tusk. 

Chicago — Alg. — A city in Illinois; said to derive its name 
from the river of that name. Some insist that it comes from 
she-ka.gh, or she-gagh — "skunk." The word Choe-ca-go oqqwys, 
in the Pottawattamie dialect, which signifies " destitute." There 
is nothing in the history or tradition of this word which Ax^ould 
lead to the conclusion that it was derived from the w^ord she- 
Ji'agh, except the mere coincidence of sounds. The word, or 
that which is essentially the same, first occurs in Hennepin's 
account of Fort Creve Coeur, built by LaSalle, January, 1680, 
on the Illinois river, near where Peoria now stands, lie says 
this fort was called by the savages Cldcagoii., but does not give 
tlie meaning of the word. This reference thereto, occurs in the 
heading to that chapter of his book giving an account of the 
building of this fort, the words of which are as follows: "An 
account of the building of a new fort on the river of the Illinois, 
named by the savages Checagou, and by us Fort Crevecoer.^'' Four 
years later the name a]i]3ears on a French map, applied to a river 
represented as putting into the river Dcsplein from the east, 
near Mount Joliet. A few years later Lallonton designates the 
portage between the Illinois river and the great lake as the portage 
oi Chikakou. Charlevoix, in 1720, refers to the point on the great 
lake at which the portage to the Illinois river commences as 
Chicago a. There are several words in the various dialects of the 
Algonquin group to which the origin of this word may be 
assigned with equal propriety as that of she-ka/ig. Certain it 
is, that there is no light afibrded us in history by which we can 
determine the original intention as to the meaning of this Avord.* 

EscANABA — Alg. — Menominee dialect. — A town in Michigan. 
I^latrock. 

* In the early part of this work the writer g-ave the signification of this word 
according' to the meaning which the Indians gave it in the hiterda.v, and which 
has generally been accepted as good authoi'ity, but the investigations of Mr. 
Haines would go to show thtit a diversity of Indian iiieanings have been applied 
to it Avith so little affinity with each other, that one is lost in the attempt to 
settle on a consistent theory as to the true spirit of the term. — Authok. 



480 Indian Names. 

Geneseo {Gen-nis-he-yo) Irq. — A town in Illinois. Beautiful 
Valley. The name of a river in New York, so named by the 
Iriqnois from the beantifiil valley this river passes through. 

Illinois — From the Alooii(|nin word inin% " man," and 
French adjective termination ois. The French substituted I for 
n. From tradition, it was intended to mean or have reference to 
a jperfect man^ as distiuguislied from the Iroquois nation, who 
were considered by the Western tribes as beasts. Marquette, in 
descendiui;' the Mississippi, touched on the west bank of that 
river at a place near the mouth of the Des Moines, where he found 
marks of inhabitants, which he pursued westward a few miles, 
when he arrived at an Indian village, where he was received with 
demonstrations of great friendship. He communicated with the 
inhabitants, it would appear, in the Algonquin language, but as 
their dialect diifered from that of any of the tribes he had before 
met with, he asked the chief who received him who they were. 
He answered in the Algonquin language, "We are men^"* as 
distinguished from the Iroquois, whom they looked upon as 
beasts in consequence of their cruel conduct in their invasions 
upon the Western tribes. Hence the term liiini, "man," or as 
the French rendered it, Illini. Thereafter the tribes of this 
vicijiity became known among the French as IlUnese or Illinois. 

IsHPEMiNG — Alg. — A town in Michigan. High-ahoveSeaven. 

'KAi.AMA'zoo—{J}^e-gik-an-a-ma-zoo) — Alg. — A river in Michi- 
gan. The contraction of an Indian phrase descriptive of the 
stones seen through the water in its bed, which from a refractive 
power in the current, resembled an otter swimming underwater. 

Kenosha— ^1/r/. — A town in Wisconsin. A lofig Jish — a 
pike. From ^6wo5^— "long." 

Kewanee — Alg. — A town in Illinois. Prairie hen. 

IvEWASKUM— ^4Z^. — A town in Wisconsin. JReturning track, 

KiCKAPOO — Alg. — A town in Illinois. The name of one of 
the Algonquin tribes of the West, jestingly applied by others of 
the same stock. From Negik-ahos — an otter-'' s apparition — gliost 
of an otter. 

KiSHWAUKE — Alg.-^K river in Illinois. Place of sycamore 
trees. 

KoKOMO — Alg. — A town in Indiana. — 'Wise., like am. owl. 
From which it would seem that the Indians, like the ancient 
Gi'eeks, esteemed the owl as an emblem or symbol of wisdom. 

Moccasin — Alg. — A town in Illinois. A shoe. 

Manitoba — {3fan-i-to-hioa.') — Alg. — ]S"arae of a lake in the- 
British Possessions of the Northwest. Sjrir it-voice. 

Manito — Alg. — A town in Illinois. Spirit. By the. early 
French travelers, 2Ianitou. 

Manitowoc — Alg. — A town in Wisconsin. Place of the 



Indian N^ames. • • 48 i 

Spirit. By some, Man-i-to-mili — "A tree where spirits abide." 

Mascoutah — Alg. — A town in Illinois. From maseoda, 
"prairie." 

Mazo manie — Dah. — A town in AVisconsin. Walker on 
iron. Name of a Sioux chief. 

Menominee — Alg. — A river and town in AVisconsin. Eater 
of wild rice. From a tribe of Indians called Menominees, from 
their subsisting on wild rice.*" 

Mequon, or Ilaquon — Alg. — A river in "Wisconsin. Feather 
or quill. 

MiCHiGAMME, or Michigumme — Alg. — A town in Michigan. 
Great vMter. 

MicHiLiMACiNAc — Alg. — An island in the straits between 
lakes Huron and Michigan. Great Turtle. 

Michigan — Alg. — The Great Zahe. 

MiNNEHAHAH — {Minne-ixtro) — Dak. — Name of a noted water- 
fall in Minnesota, Laughing water; from 3Iinne, " w^ater " and 
ra ra, " laugh." This was the name originally given by the Da- 
Tcotahs to St! Anthonys Falls. Henneyjin visited these Falls 
in 1680, and gave to them the present name of St. Anthony. In 
later years the name Minnehaha, intended for Min-ne-ra-ra, 
became applied to tliat small but interesting waterfall near Ft. 
Snelling. 

Milwaukee — {Min-vMu-kee).^—Alg. — A town in Wisconsin, 
Good earth. — Good country. 

MiNNETONKA — Dah. — Name of a noted lake in l\tinnesota; 
a great pleasure resort. The word is Minne Tonga, or more 
properly spoken, Tonga Minne, signifying "a lake" orljody of 
water. 

Minnesota — l>ali. — Name of a river find state. From Min- 
ne " water, " and "sota," which is understood to mean mixed or 
mottled, signifying the condition or appearance of the water of 
this river, when affected by the flood of the Mississippi; some 
say that sota, refers to the hazy or smoky appearance of the at- 
mosphere, over the valley of this river at some seasons of the year. 

Mississippi — Alg. — Name of a river and state. — Great Rv^^er. 

MisHA MoQUA — {3£ish-a-muh-wa.) — Alg. — A town in AYis- 
consin — Great hear. From misha, " great," and mukwa, "a bear." 

MoKENA — (Mok-e-w<x) — Alg. — A town in Illinois. Turtle. 

MoAWEQUA — Alg. — A' town in Illinois. Weeping woman; 
she that weeps. 

MuscoDA — Alg. — A town in Wisconsin. Prairie. 

* The marsh\' lands along Fox River and adjacent lakes, in the country of the 
Menominees, abounded in wild rice, and was their principal article of subsis- 
tence; hence the appellation, Menominees, homme-no-mln, "wild rice." 



4S2 Indian Names. 

Muskegon — {MusTceg-ong) Alg. — A town in Michigan. At the 
swamp. 

MusKEGO-p^?*;. — A town in Wisconsin. Swamjp. 

MusQiTAKA — Alg. — Sac dialect. — A town in Iowa. Red eartli. 

]^EOGA — /r<7. — A town in Illinois. Place of the Great Sinrit. 

Neshotau — Alg. — A town in Wisconsin. Tutin. 

NoKOMis — Alg. — A town in Illinois. Grandmother. 

NuNDA— /r^-. — A town in Illinois. Hills. 

Ogk^ia — Alg. — A town in Wisconsin. Chief ^head man. 

Onio (O-hee-o) — Irq. — Name of a river. Beautiful — ho:w 
heautiful. 

Ots'Tonagon— J.Z^. — A town on Lake Superior, From Non- 
;f(?7i^7f/«5«., "My dish." 

().sAGE — Alg. — A town in Illinois. Miami dialect. The 
Neutral. The name of a tribe of Indians. 

Oscoda — Alg. — A town in Michigan. From Iscoda, "Fire." 

OsnKosH — Alg. — A town in Wisconsin. Brave. J^ame of a 
Menominee chief. 

Oquaka — Alg. — Sac dialect. — A town in Illinois. Yellow earth. 

OssiNEKE {Os-s'm-e-ka) — Alg. — A town in Michigan. He that 
gathers or worA's in stones. 

Oswego {O-Sweh-go) — Irq. — A town in Illinois. Flowing 
out. This name was given by the Iroquois to the place at the 
mouth of the river, since called by that name, in the state of 
l^ew York. 

Ottawa — Alg. — A town in Illinois. Trader. ITame of a 
tribe of Indians whom the French designated as the traders. 

Ozaukee — Alg. — A county in Wisconsin. Yellow earth. 

Peimbina — Alg. — A town in Minnesota. High hush cran- 
herries. The name of a river, being so named by the Indians from 
these bushes growing along its banks. 

Peotone (^e-^6>w<3) — Alg. — A town in Illinois. Bring — hring 
here. 

Poweshiek — Alg. — A county in Iowa. From an Indian chief 
of the Fox tribe. The roused hear. 

PoYGAN — Alg. — A town in AVisconsin. Pipe. 

Sebewa — {Se-he-wan) — Alg. — A town in Michigan. Punning 
water. 

Shawano — Alg. — A town in Wisconsin. Southern. 

SoiNioNAUK {Es-sem-in-auh) — Alg. — A town in Illinois. Paw 
Paw tree. 

ToNicA — Alg. — A town in Illinois. A p)la(}e inhahited. 

Tuscola — Apl. — A town in Illinois. A level plain. 

Wabashaw — Dak. — A town in Minnesota. From an Indian- 
chief of the Sioux nation. Bedleaf ov the leaf 



Indian Names. 483 

"Wapella. — Alg. — A town in Illinois. From an Indian chief of 
the Fox Tribe. He who is painted ivhite. 

Wausau — Alg. — A town in Wisconsin. Far off. 

"Waukesha ( Wau-koosh-ong) — Alg. — A town in Wisconsin. 
At the Fox, on Fox River. This is another of those numer- 
ous instances of an attempt to adopt an Indian name, which 
has not been successful. The word given in parenthesis is be- 
lieved to be the word intended. The place bearing this name was 
originally called Prairieville. As the town grew in importance, 
the inhabitants, foremost among whom was the late Gov. Ran- 
dall, desired to adopt some more appropriate name. It being- 
situated on Fox river, thej wished to adopt some Indian name, 
suggestive of its locality. This would be properly expressed by 
the word Wau-koosh-ong, which would seem to be the word in- 
tended, lawi Waiikesha would not be recognized by the Indians 
as an Indian word. 

Waukegan ( Wau-ki-e-gan) — Alg. — A town in Illinois. A 
house, or fort. The place where this town is situated was originally 
called Little Fort. It seems to have been a French trading post 
of minor importance — probably established about the year 1720, 
or at some time in the early part of that century. The occasion 
of selecting this ]:)oint as a post seems to have been tw^o-fold. It 
was in the vicinitj' of excellent hunting and trapping grounds, 
especially the latter, and was found to be the nearest point of 
any for reaching the Desplaines river from Lake Michigan, 
where in a good stage of water a short, easy portage could be 
made on the route to the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, saving 
about forty miles of lake coast, necessary in going by way of 
Chicago. It was continued as a French post until probably 
about 1760. After the English succeeded to the country the 
jjoint became ki>own as IVie Little Fort, and the town subse- 
quently built u]) here took that name. Judge Blodgett, now of 
the United States Court, becoming a resident of the place, and 
having a fancy for Indian names, suggested that the name of 
Little Fort be changed by substituting an Indian name signity- 
ing the same thing. The diminntive of nouns in the Algonquin 
language is formed by adding the syllable ansa, so that Little 
Fort in that language would bo Wau-ki-e-ganse; but for the pur- 
poses of euphony the name adoj)ted was Waukegan, which would 
signify simply JF'ort or House. Although the pronunciation is 
not precisely the same as the Indian word intended, but yet is 
nearer to that intended than the so called Indian names generally 
are. The Indians designated a ibrt or dwelling of the white man 
l)v the same name. The original dwellino:s of the whites amono: 
them were buildings for trading posts, built in a style for pro- 
tection, and were called forts by the French. 



^^^ Indian JVames. 

Wauconda — Dak. — A town in Illinois. The Good Spirit. 

Wanatah — Dale. — A town in Indiana. He that charges o it 
his enemies. JSTarae of an Indian chief. 

Waupun ( Wau-lun) — Alg. — A town in Wisconsin. Early — 
frontier. 

AVeyauwega — Alg. — A town in AVisconsin. Tliis is one of 
the words passing for an Indian name, whicli in its present form 
is not an Indian word. The word, according- to the late Gov. 
Doty, is Wey-au-we-ya, as given by him to the postoffice depart- 
ment at Washington when the postoffice at that place was estab- 
lished. The department mistook tlie y for g, rendering the- 
name as it now is. The word intended is an Algonquin word, of 
the Menominee dialect, and ?>\gm^Q& v)hirling loind. It was the 
name of a faithful Menominee Indian guid^ long in the service 
of Gov. Doty, whose name he sought after his death to perpetu- 
ate through applying it to this town. 

WiNETKA — Alg. — A town in Illinois. A heautiful place. 

Winnebago ( Win-ne-he-gog) — ^Ir/.— I*Tame of a county in Illi- 
nois. Dirty waters. The name of a tribe of Indians found 
by Ihe French at Green Bay, whicli they called Stinking Bay 
for some cause, wJiereby these Indians became known as Winne- 
bagogs, or people of the dirty waters 

Wisconsin. — JTame of a river and state. Marquette calls this 
river the Mishhonsing, which is supposed to liave been intended 
as an Indian word, signifying strong current, a feature which 
marks this stream in high water. 

Wyanet. — Alg. — A town in Illinois. Beautiful. 

Tankton. — Dak. — A town in Dakota Territory. From 
Eyank-ton-ioah, "People of the Sacred, or Spirit Lakes." 



Y A L E 1) I C T O R Y. 

Far different is the early liistorj of the Northwest from that 
of New England, or the Yirginia colonies. The people of both 
came from the same origin, except the French, who remained in 
the country, but when tTie Ano^lo-Americans came to the West, 
their minds were nnclouded by the servitude of caste, either \\\ re- 
ligious or political affairs, for time had wrought great changes 
between the days of the settlement of Jamestown by gentlemen, 
311 id Plymouth by unctious Puritans, and the days of William 
Henry Harrison, when Western pioneering became a mania 
throughout the East. Then came a rush of adventurers to the 
■new Held of labor. Not regretful fugitives from persecution, but 
bold, aggressive and ambitious fortune-seekers who could tolerate 
•Jews, especially if they would loan them money, or Quakers, if 
they would sell them "honest goods" as they are wont to do. 
They could fellowship any one who would do something to help 
subdue the wilds of the West, and build progressive institutions 
therein; and here grew into being from cosmopolitan eleinents, 
The West As It Is: the wealthiest country in the world in. 
^'reature comforts if not in gold. Its adult population have 
largely witnessed its growth and who of them can say, they have 
not felt their minds enlarge b_y Western experience. 

Headers, to this conviction I confess, To you, I therefore 
say that in writing the foregoing pages, I have imagined myself 
familiarly conversing with my peers who were in sympathy wdth 
me and knew how to accept my words, feeble as ^Yord3 are to 
^measure the gkandeuk of the West historically. 

Here lived and grew the pioneer, 

Amidst the wilds l)y nature spread; 
Who never felt a servile fear, 

From tilled lord or crowned head. 

Prophetic in his visions n'leani. 

Through future ages }et to l)e. 
The star of empire's Western stream, 

Along its way, from sea to sea. 

And here was work for him to do. 

With. gloiT jet to crown his age, 
Where all things must be built anew, 

On virgin tields of fair presage. 

And peerless temples here shall rise, 
Drawn from the world's great manifest, 

Whose, spires shall pierc! the azure skies, 
Wliose light adorns the Boukteous West. 

Chicago, III., December, 1S80. THE AUTHOR. 



i 



WASHINGTON'S 
JOURNAL OF A TOUR TO THE OHIO, 

m 1753. 



"With Notes by John G. Shea. 



■ ' - ».• 



)W^ 



. \ 



I ( 



The following diarj of joung Washington, on his tour to the 
liead-waters of the Ohio, lias never before been published in a 
form available to the book-buyers of the "West, and is here in- 
serted as an interesting historical document, well worthy a place 
in Northwestern History, all the more valuable for Mr. Shea's 
Notes and Introduction accompanying it. 



I 



INTEODUCTIOIS', 



The earliest of Washington's diaries, printed almost as soon as 
its last page was written, i^ossesses uncommon interest, from the 
fiilhiess with which he descrihes the events of his journey, a full- 
ness for which we are indelited to the instructions of Governor 
Dinwiddie. 

Washington was then twenty-one, l^it already a " person of 
•distinction." Adjutant General of the colonial troops, witli tlie 
rank of Major, to him was committed the northern division of 
the colony. His earlier exploration as surveyor had brought 
him into contact with the Indians, and none seemed better to 
know and understand them; while his early maturity, dignity 
and judgment fitted him for any important undertaking that did 
not require the experience of years. 

Affairs had reached a crisis, France had colonized Canada, 
Illinois and Louisiana, and connected them by detached posts, 
but the ]30ssession of the Ohio, so necessary to the safety of her 
wide provincial power, was soon to fall into the hands of her 
rival by the rapid progress of English colonization. To set a 
barrier to its westward progress, France determined to run a line 
of forts from Kiagara to the forks of the Ohio, and down that 
rivei". 

The Indians iirst took the alarm. When the tidiuij-s reached 
the Ohio that a French force was on its way to erect this line of 
forts-, a council of the wandering tribes, Mingoes, Shawnees and 
Delawares, met at Logstbwn, and in April, 1753, dispatched an 
€n\oj to Niagara to protest against the action of the French. 
The protest was unheeded. Tanacharisson then went to Fort 
Presque Isle to meet Marin, and reported to Washington, as we 
shall see, the result of his fruitless mission. 



4 Introduction. , 

Pennsylvania then took the alarm, and Governor Hamilton in; 
vain nrged his assembl}^ to check the French invasion of their 
frontiers, yet they appointed Norris, tlieir speaker, and Franklin, 
to meet at Carlisle a deputation from the tribes. There the Indian 
declared his will. The land was theirs. They wished neither 
English nor French to intrude. Yet, as danger from the latter 
seemed more imminent, they were willing to help the English to 
expel the French. They did not see that it was but a change of 
masters, and if, in the event, English gai-risons replaced the 
French, the power of the latter was scarcely prostrated, when, in 
1763, the long-smothered wrath of th<3 bathed red man swept 
the English from Forts Erie, Le B(]euf and Yenango, and burst in 
its might on Fort Pitt. 

Yirginia, too, moved, and Washington, from his official posi- 
tion and his knowledge of the Indians, was selected by Governor 
Dinwiddie to proceed to the Ohio, demand the withdrawal of the 
French and examine the condition of tlieir forces. The following 
letter, recently come to light, and one of the few of chat period 
of his career known, shows how he was engaged when cliosen for 
the mission to the Ohio: 

"VYlNCUESTER, Oct, 17, 1753. 
Honorable Sir: — Last night, by return of the express wha 
went to Captain IVIontour, I received the inclosed from Mr. Har- 
ris, at Susquehanna. I think no means should be neglected to- 
presence what few Indians still remain in our interest, for which 
reason I shall send Mr. Gist, as soon as he arrives, which I expect 
will be to-day, to Harris' Ferry, in hopes of engaging arid bring- 
ing with him the Belt of AVanipum and other Indians at that 
place; and I shall further desire him to send an Indian express 
to Andrew Montour, to try if he can be brought along with him. 
In however trifling light the French attempting to alienate 
the atfections of our southern Indians, may at lirst sight appear, 
I must look upon it as a thing of the utmost consequence, that 
requires our greatest and most immediate attention. I have often 
wondered at not hearing that this was attempted before, and had 
it noted, among other memoranda, to acquaint your honor of 
when I should come down. The French policy in treating with 
Indians is so prevalent that I should not be in the least surprised 



Tntrodiiction. 5- 

were tliey to engage the Clierokees, Ciittabas, &c., unless timely 
and vigorous measures are taken to prevent it. A pusillanimous 
behavior would ill suit the times, and trusting for tnulers and 
common interpreters (who will sell their integrity to the highest 
bidder) may prove the destruction of these aftairs. I therefore 
think that if a person of distinction, acquainted with their lan- 
guage, is to be found, his price should be come to at any rate; if 
no such can be had, a man of sense and character, to conduct the- 
Indians to any council that may be had, or to superintend any" 
other matters, will be extremely necessary. 

It is impertinent, I own, in me to oiFer my opinions on these- 
matters when better judges may direct; but my steady and hearty 
zeal in the cause and the great impositions I have known prac- 
ticed by the traders, &c., upon these occasions, would not suffer 
me to be quite silent. I have heard, from undoubted authority, 
that some of the Clierokees that have been introduced as sachems 
and princes by the interpreters (who share their presents and 
profits), have been no others than common hunters and blood- 
thirsty villains. We have no accounts yet of the militia fron:t 
Fairfax, &c. This day I march with about one hundred men tO' 
Fort Cumberland. Yesterday, by an express, I was informed of 
the arrival of eighty odd recruits to Fredericksburg, which I 
have ordered to proceed to this place, but for want of the regu- 
larity being observed by which I should know where every officery. 
&c., ought to be, my orders are only conditional and always con- 
fused. Whatever necessaries your honor gets below, I should be- 
glad to have them sent to Alexandria, from whence they come- 
much more handy than from Fredericksburgh ; besides, as pro- 
visions are lodged there, and none at the other place, it will be 
best for the men to be all sent there that is any ways convenient^ 
for we have met with insuperable difficulty at Fredericksburgh 
in our march from here, by the neglect of the Com., who is at 
this time greatly wanted here. Therefore I hope your honor will, 
order him up immediately. 

I am, honorable sir, your most obedient servant, 

G. Washington^ 



^ Inti'oducti-n. 

But before this could liave readied the governor and been acted 
oipon, came his commission, with these 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

Whereas I have received information of a body of French 
"forces being assembled in a hostile manner on the River Ohio, 
intending by force of arms to erect certain forts on the said river, 
"vvithin this territory, and contrary to the dignity and peace of 
onr sovereign, the king of Great Britain; these are therefore to 
require and direct you, the said George Washington, forthwith 
to repair to Logstown, on the said River Ohio, and having there 
anformed yourself where the said French forces have posted them- 
selves, thereupon to proceed to such place, and being there ar- 
rived, to ])resent your credentials, together with my letter to the 
•chief commanding officer, and in the name of his Britannic 
jVIajesty, to demand an answer thereto. 

On vour arrival at Loo-stown, \o\\ are to address vourself to the 
Half-King, to Monacatoocha, and to the other sachems of the Six 
IN^ations, acquainting them with your orders to visit and deliv^er 
3nv letter to the French commandino- officer, and desirino; the said 
-chiefs to ajDpoint you a sufficient number of their warriors to be 
yowv safeguard, as near the French as you may desire, and to 
xwait vour further direction. 

You are diligently to inquire into the numbers and force of 
the Freneli on the Ohio and the adjacent country, how they are 
likelv to be assisted from Canada, and what are the difficulties 
smd conveniences of that communication and the time required 
for it. 

You are to take care to be truly informed what forts the French 
ihave erected, and where; how they are garrisoned and appointed, 
:and what is their distance from each other and from Logstown; 
:and from the best intelligence you can procure, you are to learn 
what gave occasion to this expedition of the French, how they 
.lire likely to be supported, and what their pretensions are. 

When the French commandant has given you the required and 
necessary dispatches, you are to desire of him a proper guard to 
protect you as far on your return as you may judge for your 
safety, against any straggling Indians or hunters that may be 
ignorant of your character and molest you. 



\ 



Iiitroductlon. T 

Wishing you success in your negotiation aiul a safe and speedy 
return, I am, etc., 

RoiiKKT DlXWIDDTE. 

WiLiiiAMSBURG, O'ctobcr 30, 1753 

With these instructions Wasliington proceeded to the Oliio, to- 
demand the witlidrawal of tlie French from the soil claimed as- 
English territory. This act opened a, series of struggles, in the 
course of which English, French and Americans clianged their 
relative positions, and which closed thirty years after, with the 
gaze of mankind riveted on the august form of him whom we 
here behold the stripling. 

By that series of struggles America alone profited. The 
mighty Genius directing her destiny seems to have used the 
power of England to drive France from the north and west and 
south, and then used baffled France to drive the English power 
within that line of lakes which Dongan, a century before, marked 
as our boundary; used France, too, at a later day, to add to the 
American limits that Louisiana which she could not hold herself^ 
so that ere the century succeeding the events here described had 
reached its close, a mighty republic, stretching from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific, reveres, perpetuates and exalts the name of AVash- 
ington. 

J. G. S. 



Ad'certltsemant. 



ADYEETISEMENT. 



As it was tlionglit advisable by his Honor, tlie Governor, to 
have the following ucconnt of my proceedings to and from the 
French on the Ohio committed to print, I think I can do no less 
than apologize in some measnre for the nnmberless imperfections 
of it. There intervened bnt one day between my arrival in 
Williamsburg and the time for the Council's meeting, for me to 
prepare and transcribe, from the rougii minutes I had taken in 
my travels, this journal, the writing of which only was sufhcient 
to employ nic closely the whole time; consequently admitted of 
no leisure to consult of a new and proper form to offer it in, or 
to correct and amend the diction of the old; neither was 1 a])- 
prised, nor did in the least conceive, when I wrote this for his 
llonor's ])erusal, that it ever would be published, or even have 
more than a cursory reading, till I was informed, at the meeting 
t>f the present General Assembly, that it was already in the press. 
There is nothing can recommend it to the public but this: Those 
things which came under the notice of my own observation, 1 
liave been explicit and just in a recital of; those which I have 
gathered from report, I have been particularly (jautious not to 
augment, but collected the opinions of the several intelligencers 
and selected from the whole the most probable and consistent 
account. 

G. Washington. 



OCTOBER 31, 1753. 

I was commissioned and appointed by the Hon. Robert Din- 
vviddie, Esq., Governor of Virginia,^ to visit and deliver a letter 
to the coniinandant of the French forces on the Ohio, and set 
(^)Ut on the intended journey on the same day (October 31, 1753); 
the next I arrived at Fredericksburg and eni;a<2:ed Mr. Jacob Van 
Braam^ to be my French interpreter, and proceeded with liini to 
Alexandria, where we ])rt»vided necessaries. From thence we 
Avent to Winchester and got baggage, horses, &c., and from 
tlience we pursued the new road to Will's Creek, where we arrived 
on the 14th of November. 

Here I engaged Mr. (iist' to pilot us out, and also hired four 
others as servitors, Baniaby Curran and John M'Quire, Indian 
traders; Henry Steward and William Jenkins; and in company 
with those persons left the iidiabitants the next day. 

1 llobcTtDinwifldit,', a native of Scot land, liad been a clerk to a collector in 
a West India cnstom-house, and jj;ained tin; favor of j^overnment by exposini^ 
the frauds of that oHicer. For this he; was, in 1741, made surveyor of the cus- 
toms of the colonies, and havin.n', in that ca])acity, been obnoxious to the Vir- 
ginia aristocracy, was nuide Lieutenant-(,70vernor of Virginia in 1753. His 
administration was like that of most colonial governors. ('am])bell thus de- 
scribes its close in his "History of Virginia," ]>. 4!)7: " In .January, 1758, Rob- 
ert J)in^vi(l(li(^ after an arduous and disturbed administration of live years, worn 
out wit.h vexation ajid age, sailed from Virginia, not much regretted except l)y 
his particular friends." 

2 .Tiicob Van Braam liad served under Lavvrejice Washington, in Vernon's 
ex])edition against Ciartluigena, and had been fencing master, as he was now 
inter] )r<!ter, to George Washington. In the subse(|uenl can>l)aigii, when Wash- 
ington capitulated at Fort Necessity, Van Braam, acting as translator, made 
Wasiungton admit that he had assassinateii I)e .lumonville. After that alia ir, 
he was left, with ytobo, as hostage, in the hands of th(! French. 

8 Christopher Gist was an early settler in those; ])arts, and Washington, in 
recommending his appointment as' Indian agent, thus writes to .John Robinson, 
speaker of the House of Burgesses, May ;j6, 1757: " 1 know of no i)ersoii so 
■well C|ualilied for an undertaking of this sort as the bearer. Captain (Jist. He 
htus had extensive dealings with the Indian.s, is in great esteem among lljem, 
AV(;1I accpiainted with their manners and customs, indelatiga))le and i)atient — 
most excellent qualities -where; Indians are concerned. As to Jiis capfu'itv, hdu- 
csty and zeal, I dare venture to engage. — Writings, vol. ii, p. 2150. 

(9) 



10 Th< Fori,- of til,' Ohio. 

N()VKMr>l':K22. 

The oxc(>RBivo mins nnd V!i8t quMiilily df snow wliicli Imd i'ullon 
]trt'\ I'litt'd our fcijichiiii^ Mr. Frasicr's, .in Indian triuler, at the 
inondi of 'rnrtlf Orcck, on Monon^ahrla Ki\i'r, nntil Thursday, 
tlu- lllJnih \\ r wvvv inlornKMl here thai cxprL'sscs liad hccn sent; 
a few <la\s hct'ore, to I lie ti'ailcMVs (h»\\ n I lie river, to a(5<iuaint Ihcui 
with lh(i I'Vcnch ^cucrid's ih^alh,'' and the rctuiai ol' th,r major 
pari of flic I'Vcnch army into winter (juartcrs. 

Till' watei's weri^ ijuiti.' inr|>assa.l)l(^ willioul swimmiiii;- our 
liorses, whicli olili<j;('d us to i^'et the l(»iin of a eanoe fi'om I*'i'a/ier, 
and to .-^end llarnahy ('nri-in ami Ilrnry Steward down the Alo- 
iioni;aliela. with our liau'ija^'e, to meet us at. the fork of the Olno, 
ahout ten miles, tlu'l'e to ei'oss the Aliei^'hany. 

As 1 ii'ot down hefore llie ea)U)e, I s|)ent some lime in viewiiii:^ 
th(> rivers and the land in the fork, which I think e.vtreiueiy well 
situated for a fort, as it. has the a.l>solute. command of hoth riv- 
ers.'' The land at the point is twenty or tweidy-live feet, ahove 
the eoninion suri'ace of tlu^ water, and a considerahle hottoni of 
:dal, well t.indiered land all ariuind it, very convenient for huild- 

• 4 This Krrncli gcnoriil wan Piiirni Piuil, Siisur (l«i Miirin, u brave aiul inUHl- 
jjciil (iHic«T, ono ef tlit! Ix'sl, in ])ii (^iicsno's force, and liii>li in tlic cslccin ol'tliat 
rclornicr dl' (lisci|)lin(\ Dii Qn('sii(i had (iisi)atc!u'(l liini (o liic Oliio, to lonnd 
(lie tort at llic i't)nllu('ncc ol' llic ,\ll('i;li;ui_v and M<)nnni;ali<ia. 'I'lic rcji'i.stcr ol" 
Foil |)n(|UrsiH' has Ihc loiiowin;;' cnhT : "In Ilie yciir oni' Ihonsand seven huri 
dreil and lilty lliree, the ',*!Mli ol' Oeloher, died, nl hidi' past Innr o'cdork in Ihe 
aUeiiKton, in Die foil ol' Kivien: aU.v itd'ul's, iniih'r Ihe lille of SI. relcr, Mon- 
sieur I'iern' I'aid, I'isii.. Sieiirde Marin, Knij;lil of tlie jMilitary and l{oyal Order 
of Si. [iOuis, (Captain of lidanlry and Coniniandant (Jenta-al of lh(^ Army of lii<: 
Ohio, after liiiviny reeeivcd tiie saenuneiils of i)enanee, exirenie nnelion, and Uk; 
vial ienni, a,!ii(l sixty lliree years, ilis body ^^ as interred in the ecniel.ery ofsaid 
fort l»y us, Iteeoileel priest, Ch.'iplain ofsaid fort, and, durin;;' Ihe eiinipaii^ni, 
of liu' Kivcr Ohio. Were pre.seni at his inlernieni, .Monsieur de i{epeiilinuy, 
C\)nnuai\daiil of said army and Oaplain of Infantry; .Messieurs du Muys, ijeu- 
leniiul of Infantry; iJenois, Lieutenant, of Infanlry; de Sind)lin, Major at said 
fort; La force, Commissary of Uje Stores: who liave si^iied vvilh us. 

" Lis <I vinua'i! dk Ukimontiony, 
" l..\K(nt(i; -Kknuis — Dii Muys, 
"J. Di.riaii; Simui.in, 
" Furvu Dknis Hakon, 

Keeolleet i)riest, ('haplaiii.'' 
aMurin had just e.roeted Forts I^n^sqtie Isle anil Le Hceuf Du (^uesne, in his 
letter to M..I)e Kouille, .\u>j,ust 20, 175;?, says: "Sieur M.-uin \^r■^les me on the 
3d insl., Hull, the fori, at l'res(pie Isle is entirely llnished ; llial Ihe l'ortai;'e Koad, 
wliieh is six leaj;ues in leiiu'lh, is also ready for earii.iucs; thai, llie slori', which 
was necessary to he huill lialfway aero.sslhe portage, is in a coudilion to r(^ceiv(! 
till) supplies, and Itial the si'iondlort, wliic.h is loeattui at the mouth of the ]Uv- 
lere an HomiI', will siH)n he completed.'' — N. Y. Vol. Jhc, x., 25t». 

5 This choice, sivys Dussicux, i>rovc8 Ihe accurate fflancc and excellent j ud.s;- 
menl of the younn' major. Hut at the moment of his maliini;; Ihe report, llu^ 
French were' already erecting Fort Dinpusne oji the spot- — I.c Oaiutthi soun la 
Domination Fmncaue.,'^. Ul. 



The Ifalf-Kbuj. 11 

iiiiji;. TIic- rivers iiro eju'li a ((unrlcr oi' a milt! or more aci'oss, Jiiul 
run hero very nearly at i-iirlit aiigl(!s, 7Ml('i;liaiiy bearing iiorLli- 
east and Mouongahela southeast 'Jlie Ibrnier of tlicse two is a 
very rapid and swirt-running water, thcotlier deep and still, with- 
out any perceptible! fall. 

About two inikis i'roni this, on the sniitheast side ol' the river, 
at tlie plaeo where tlu; Ohio Coni[);uiy intended to erect a fort, 
lives Shingiss, King of tiu; J)(;laware8." W(! called upon him, to 
invite fiini to counsel at th(>. Logstown. 

As I had takeu a good deal of ncjticc! yesterday ol" the situation 
at the fork, my curiosity leil nic to I'xamiiie this more })articu- 
larly, and I thiidc it greatly infi'rior, either ibr defense or ad- 
vantages, especially the latt(M'; for a fort at the fork wonld lio 
cfjually well situated on the Ohio, and have the entire connnand 
of the Moiioiigiihela, which, runs up our settlement, and is ex- 
tremely well designed for wat(!r c;iiTliig(% and it is ol' a deep, still 
nature. Besides, a fort at the fork might be built at miicli' less 
ex])ense than at the other ])laces, 

Natui'o has well conl rived this lowei- place forj water ijefcnse; 
but the hill whereoji il innst stand, being about a, (piartcr of a 
mile in length, and tluMi dese(;nding gradnally on tiu! land side, 
will render it didicnlt iind vei'v expensivi; lo jnalu; a sulli<'ient 
fortilication there. The whole (hit u|)on the hill must be taken 
in, tlie side next the descent mach; extremely high, or eKs(! tho 
hill itself cut away; otherwise the (Miemy may raise; battericB 
within that distance without being exposed to a single shot troni 
tlie fort. 

Shingis.s attended us to the Logstown, where wo arrived between 
sun-setting and dai'k, 1h(! twenty-fifth day aft(u- \ left Williams- 
l)urg. We traveled over some extremely good and bad land to 
get to this place. 

As soon as 1 came into town, I Avent to JVIonacatoocha (as tho 
Ilalf-JCing^ was (uit at his hunting cabin on Little Heaver Oreok, 
about lil'ieeii miles oil), and i.idbi'nu;d him by John Davidson, 
my fiidian int(3rpreter, that [ was sent a messenger to the; Frenith 
general, and was ordere<l to (;all Uj)oii the sachems ol' the Si.K 

ations to acquaint them with it. I gave him a string (jf wam- 
pum and a twist of tobacco and desireifhim to send for the Half- 
King, which he promised to d(j by a runner in the uKu-ning, and 



Sliingi.ss liad been the torrnr of the English frontiers, hut hud now wnrndy 
espoused tho cause of llic English. 

7 Iliilf-King. Tanacliurissbn, a shrewd S(!noca, was called the Half-King, aH 
his aatliority WMM sulijeel to lliul of tlie I^'ivc Nations. (Uiiitpl>iiVi< llUturij <>f 
Viy'iiiilii, p. KM ; SMrgonl's llraihlocl,:, \). 54. lie was witli Wii.-^litiiglon in Hi*- 
affair with .luiuoiivillc, and diwl iu October, 17«)4. 



12 French Forts on the Mississipjyi. 

for other paelieras. I invited liim and the other great men pres- 
ent to my tent, where they stayed abont an honr and returned. 
According to tlie best observations I conld make, Mr. Gist's 
new settlement (wliich we jiassed by) bears about west northwest 
seventy miles from Will's creek; ShannojDins, or the fork, north 
by west, or north northwest, about fifty in iles from that; and 
from thence to the Logstown the course is nearly west about 
eighteen or twenty miles; so that the whole distance, as we went 
and computed it, is at least one hundi-ed and thirty-five or one 
hundred and forty miles from our back inhabitants. 

NOVEMBER 25. 

Came to town, fonr of ten Erenchmen, who had deserted from 
a company at the Knskuskas,^ which lies at the moutli of this 
river. I got the following account from them: They were sent 
from ISTew Orleans with a hnndred men and eight canoe loads of 
provisions, to this place, where they expected to have met tlie 
8ame number of men from the forts on this side of Lake Erie, to 
•con^•oy them and the stores np, "svho were not arrived when they 
ran oil'. 

I inquired into the situation of the French on the Mississippi, 
their numbers, and what forts they had bnilt. They informed me 
that there were four small forts between New Orleans and the 
Black Islands," garrisoned with about thirty or forty men and a 
few small ])ieces in each; that at New Orleans, which is near the 
month of the Mississippi, there are thirty -five comi^anies of forty 
men each, with a pretty strong fort, monnting eight carriage 
guns, and at the Black Islands there are several companies and a 
fort with six gnns. The Black Islands are abont a hundred and 
thirty leagues above the month of the Ohio, which is about three 
hundred and fifty above New Orleans. They also acquainted me 
that there was a small jialisadoed fort on the Ohio, at the mouth 
of the Obaish,^'' about sixty leagues from the Mississippi, The 

8 Kuskuskas was, it is said, an Indian town on Big Beaver Creek, Pennsylva- 
nia, but it is more likel}^ that the French post of Kaskaskia is intended. 

9 Blacli Islands. Washinoton was here evidently misled by the sound, and 
mistook Illinois for Isles Koires, that is, Black Islands. There Avas no French 
post called Black Islands, but the name Illinois, now so familiar to us, was then 
unheard in the British colonies. The Miamis and Illinois were known as Chick- 
taghicks and Twigtwies, and both together frequently imder the last, the more 
common term. 

10 Obaish, Wabash ; in French, Ouabache. This name was given by Mar- 
quette, La Salle, and other early explorers, to the Ohio, but tiually became that 
of a- branch, Avliile the Iroquois name, Ohio, or Beautiful Eiver, was applied to 
III' main stieam. The fort alluded to was probably Vincennes. 



The Half -King's Speech. 13 

'Obfiisli lieacl^; near the west end of Lake Erie, and affords the 
communication between the French on the Mississippi and those 
on tlie hikes. These deserters came np from the lower Shan- 
noali^^ town \vitli one JJrown, an Indian trader, and were going to 
Pliiladelphia. 

About three o'clock this evening the Half-King came to town. 
I went np and invited liim, with Davidson, privateh^, to my tent, 
and desired him to relate some of the particulars of his journey 
to the French commandant, and of liis reception there; also to 
give me an account of the ways and distance. He told me tliat 
the nearest and levelest wav was now imiiassable by i-eason of 
man}' large, miry savannas; that w-e must be obliged to go by 
Venaugo.^^ and should not get to the near fort in less than five or 
six night's sleep, good traveling. When he went to the fort, he 
said he was received in a very stern manner by the late com- 
mander, who asked him very abruptly what lie had come about, 
arid to declare his business, which he said he did in the following 
speech : 

"Fathers, 1 am come to tell vou vour own speeches, what your 
own mouths have declared. 

" Fathers, you, in former days, set a silver basin before us, 
•wherein there w^as the leg of a beaver, and desired all the nations 
to come and eat of it; to eat in ])eace and plenty, and not to be 
'chnrlisli to one another; and that if any such person should be 
found to be a disturber, I here lay down by the edge of the dish 
« rod, wdiich you must scourge them with; and if your father 
•should get foolish in my old days, I desire you may use it upon 
me, as well as others. 

"l^ow, fathers, it is you who are the distml)ers in this land, by 
■coming and building your towns-, and taking it away unknown to 
us, and by force. 

" Fathers, we kindled a fire a long time ago at a place called 
Montreal, where w^e desired you to stay, and not to come and in- 
trude upon our land. I now desire yon may dispatch to that 
place; for be it know"n to you, fathers, that this is our land, and 
not yours. 



11 Shawanoe, or, as now wriKcn, Shawnee. They were ealled,l)y the Freuch, 
Chawanon. They Avere the most restless of the Algonquin tril)es,"havinfr been, 
lor a longer or slnn-ter period, in almost all the Athnilic colonies, from Florida 
to New York, and bands of them accompanied La Salle andTonti up and down 
Ihf Mississii)pi,'one of them e^'en sharing the death of the great explorer. 

12 Venango. Fort Venango was at the confluence of French Creek and the 
Alleghany, ou.the left, and another French fort, JSIachault, lay on the right. The 
ruins of Fort Venango cover a space of about four hundred feet, and the ram. 
jiarts are eight feet high. 



14. The French GeneraVs Ansiver. 

"Fathers, I desire you may hear me in civiliiess; if not, w& 
must handle that rod Avhich was hiid down for the use of tlic o]>- 
streperous. If you had come in a peaceable manner, like our 
brothers the English, we would iiot have been againr-t your trading 
with us as they do; but to come, lathers, and build houses u|)uu 
our land, and to take it by force, is what we cannot submit to. 

" Fathers, both yon and the English are Avhite; wo live in a. 
country between; therefore the land belongs to neitlier one nor 
the other; but the Great Being above allowed it to be a pi ace. of 
residence for us; so, lathers, I desire you to withdraw, as I have 
done our brothers the English; for I will kee]) you at arm's 
length. I lay this down as a trial for both, to see whicli will ha\o 
the orreatest reerard to it, and that side we will stand by and make 
equal sharers with us. Our brothers the English liave heard this,, 
and I come now to tell it to you, for I am not afraid to discharge 
you off this land." 

This, he said, was the substance of what he spoke to tlie gen- 
eral, who made this reply: 

"Now, my child, I have heard your speech. You spoke first, 
but it is my time to speak now. Where 'is my wampum that you 
took away with the marks of towns on it? This wampum I <l(^ 
not know, which you have discharged me off the land with; but 
you need not put yourself to the' trouble of speaking, for I will 
not hear you. I am not afraid of flies or niuscpiitoes,for Indians 
arc such as those. I tell you, down that river I will go, andbuihl 
upon it, according to my command. If the river was blocked 
up, I have forces, sufficient to burst it open and tread under my 
feet all that stand in opposition, together with their alliances, fwr 
my force is as the sand upon the seashore; therefore here is your 
wampum; I sling it at you. Child, you talk foolish. You say 
this land belongs^'to you, but there is not the black of my nail 
yours. I saw that land sooner than you did; before the Shan- 
noahs and you were at war. Lead was the man wlio went dowir 
and took possession of that river. It is my land, and I will have 
it, let who will stand up for or say against it. I will buy and 
sell with the English (mockingly). If ])eo])lo will be ruled by 
me, they ma}'- expect kindness, but not else." 

The lialf-king told me he had inquired of the general after 
two Englishmen who were made prisoners, and received this 
answer: 

" Child, you think it a very great hardship that I made prison- 
ers of those two people at Yenango. Don't you concern _your- 
self with it. We took and can-ied them to Canada, to get intel- 
ligence of what the English were doing in Yirginia." 

He informed me that they had built two forlts, one on Lake- 



Washington'' s Speech. 15 

^rie^' and anotlier oil. Freiicli Creek, near a small lake/* about 
iifteen miles asunder, and a lari^e wag^on-road between. They 
«,rp botli built after tlie same model, but diiierent in size; tliat on 
tlie lake the largest. He gave mo a plan of them of his own 
dr;i\ving. 

The Indians inquired very particularly after their brothers in 
Carolina gaol. 

They also asked what sort of a boy it was who was taken from 
the South Branch; for they were told by some Indians that a 
:]3arty of French Indians had carried a white boy by Kuskuska 
town, towards the lakes. 

NOVEMBER 20. 

We met in council at the long-house about nine o'clock, where 
I P])oke to them as follows: 

" Brothers, I have called you together in conncil by order of 
Tour brother, the Governor of Yirginia, to acquaint you that I 
am sent with idl possible dispatch to visit and deliver a letter to 
the French commandant, of very great importaiice to your broth- 
•eri?, tlie English; and I dare say to you, their friends and allies. 

^ I was desired, brothers, by Your brother, the Governor, to 

-call upon you, the sachems of the nations, to inform you of it, 

nud to ask your advice and assistance to proceed the nearest and 

best road to the I'rench. You see, brothers, I have gotten thus 

fai" on my journey. 

" His Honor likewise desired me to apply to you for some of 

■ j'onr young men to conduct and provide provisions for us on pur 

way, and be a safeguard against those French Indians who have 

taken up the hatchet against us. I have spoken thus particularly 

- to you, brotliers, because his Honor, our Governor, treats you as 

^ood friends and allies, and holds you in great esteem. To con- 

iirni what I have said, I give you this string of wani])um." 

After they had considered for some time on the above discourse 
the Half-King got up and spoke: 

" Now, my brothel', in regard to what my brother the Governor 
had desired of me, I return you this answer: 

" I rely upon you as a brother ought to do, as you say we are 
brothers and one people. We shall put heart in hand and speak 

13 Fort Prcsque Isle lay near the site of the present Erie, and extensive earth- 
Morks can still be scon. 

. 14 Fort Le Ba?uf, or Fort do la Riviere aux Bffiufs. See Washington's descrip- 
lion of it under date of December ly. It stood on the banks of Lake Le Bojuf, 
jibout fourteen miles soutlicasi of Erie, near the present village of Waterford, 
^«iure its ruins are still to be seen. 



IC) Tlie Half- King's Anstver. 

to our fathers, the Freneli, concerning tlie speech they made to- 
me; and you may depend that we will endeavor to be your 
igviard. 

j "Brother, as you have asked my advice, I liope you will be 
ruled by it, and stay until I can provide a company to go witli 
you. Tlie French speech-belt is not here; I have to go for it to 
my hunting-cabin. Likewise, the people whom I have orderctl 
in are not yet come, and cannot until the third night from this;, 
until which time, brother, I must beg you to stay. 

" I intend to send the guard of Mingoes,'' Shannoahs and Del- 
awares,^^ that our brothers may see the love and loyalty ^ve ])car 
them." 

As I had orders to make all possible dispatch, and waiting here 
was very contrary to my inclination, I thanked him in the most 
suitable manner I coidd, and told him that my business recpiired 
the greatest expedition, and would not admit of that delay, lie 
was not well pleased that I should otfer to go before the time he 
had appointed, and told me that he could not consent to our go- 
ing without agu'ird, for fear some accident should befall us and 
draw a reflection upon him. Besides, said he, this is amatterof 
no small moment, and must not be entered into without due con- 
sideration; tor I intend to deliver u]) the French speech-belt and 
make the Shannoahs and Delawares do the same. And accord- 
ingly he gave orders to King Shingiss, who was present, to at- 
tend on Wednesday night with the wampum, and two men of 
their nation to be in readiness to set out with ns the next morn- 
ing. As I found it was impossible to get otf without affronting 
them in the most egregious manner, I consented to stay. 

I gave them back a string of wampum which I met with at 
Mr. Frazier's, and which they sent, with a speech, to his Honor,, 
the Governor, to inform him that three nations of French Indians,. 

15 Mingocs. The Mcngwc, Minquas, or Mingocs^, Avcrc properly llic Aiuhu- 
tes or Gandastogucs, the Indians of Couestoga, on the Susquelianna, known liy 
the. former name to the Al.u'onquins and their allies, tiie Uuteli and Swedes aiul: 
by tlie former to the Five iSTalions and tlie English of New York. The Mary- 
landers knew them as the Susquehannas. Upon tlieir reduetion by tlic Five- 
Nations, in 1072, after a long war, the Andastes were to ,i great extent mingled 
with their conquerors, and a party removing to the Ohio, commonly called Min- 
gocs,was thus made u]i of Iroquois and Mingoes. The celebrated Logan was a 
real Andastc. Many treat Mingo as synonymous with l\Ioha\\k or Iroquois, 
but erroneously. 

10 Delaw^ares. This well-known tribe was a small Algonquin nation, calling 
itself Lenni Lenape. They Avere early subdued by the Five Nations, and 
seemed to have acquired the considerable historic place tiny occupy more fVom 
the fertility of their traditionary mind than from important deeds in war or 
peace. In our earlier liistories they assume gigantic importance, and their mi- 
grations and wars are detailed at length. TJiese are, however, very doubtful. 
That they are a branch of the Illinois, emiirrating to the cast, seems probalilc. 



Arrival of Monacatoocha. IT 



namely, Cliippewas/" Ottawas^'^ }ind Oruiidaks,^^ had taken np tlie 
liatchet against the English, an(| desired theiii to repeat it over 
again. 13ut this they postpondtl doing nntil they met in full 
council with the Shannoah and Delaware chiefs. 



]SrOVEMi3ER 27. 

Runners were dispatched very early for the Shannoah chiefs. 
The Half-King set out himself to fetch the French speech-belt 
from his hunting-cabin, 

NOVEMBER 28. 

He returned this evening, and came with Monacatoocha and 
two other sachems to my tent, and begged (as they had complied 
with his Honor the Governor's request, in providing men, ifec.) 
to laiow on what business we were going to the Frencli. This 
was a question I had all along expected, and had provided as sat- 
isfactoi'V answers as I could; which allaved their curiosity a 
little. 

Monacatoocha informed me that an Indian from Venango 
brought news a few days ago that the French had called all the 
Mingoes, Delawares, &c., together at that place, and told them 
that thev intended to have been <lowii the river this fall, but 
the waters were growing cold and the winter advancing, which 
obliged them to go into quarters; but that they might assuredly 
expect them in the spring with a far greater number; and de- 
sired that they might be quite passive and not intermeddle unless 
they had a mind to draw all their force upon them; for that they 
expected to light the English three years, (as they supposed tliei*e 

17 Tlie Cliippewas were first known to the French, as Otchiboues, answering 
to the modern form Ojibway, or Otchipwe. They are an Algonquin tribe, whose 
residence was at Sault Ste. Marie, whence tlie hiter French call them Sauteux, 
men of the Sault. Their language, traditions and customs have been more 
thoroughly studied than those of any other of our Indian tribes. 

18. The Ottawas were another Algonquin tribe, found on Lake Ontario. They 
formed, when first known, two branches, the Kiskakons and Sinagoes, and were 
remarkably errant. Their fires were liglited at difi'crcnt times, from Chagoime- 
gon to Detroit. They are now chiefly on the easterii shore of Lake Michigan. 
Their language bears a very close resemblance to the Ojibwa. 

19 The Orundaks are evidently the Adirondacks of New York writers, the 
Algonquin of the Frencli. Adirondack is a Mohawk term, nieauiug " they eat 
trees," from karonta, " tree," and iraks, " he eats." A small village of tliem 
still exists at the Lake of the Two Mountains, Canada East. They "were hered- 
itary enemies of the Five Nations, and their alliance Avith the Hurons drew the 
latter into a war in which both were utterly prostrated by the great confedera- 
lion of New York. 



18 De oy of the Indians. 

would l)c some attempts made to stop tliem), in which time th6y 
ghould conquer; but that if they should prove equally strong, 
they and the English would join to cut them all otf and divide 
the land between them; that though thej^ had lost their general 
and some few of their soldiers, yet there were men enough to re- 
inforce them and make them masters of the Ohio. 

This speech, he said, was delivered to them by one Caj)tain 
Joncaire,^" their interpreter-in-chief, living at Yenango, and a 
man of note in the army. 

iS^OYEMBER 29. 

The Half- King and Monacatrtocha came very early and begged 
me to stay one day more, for notwithstanding they had used all 
the diligence in their powei-, the Shannoah chiefs had not brought 
the wampum they ordered, but would certainly be in to-night; if 
not, they would delay me no longer, but would send it after us 
SIS soon as they arrived. "When 1 found them so pressing in their 
request, and knew that the returning of wampnm was the abol- 
ishing of agreements, and giving this up was shaking off all de- 
pendence upon the French, I consented to stay, as I believed, an 
offence offered at this crisis might be attended with greater 
ill consequence than another day's delay. They also informed 
me that Shingiss could not get in his men, and was prevented 
from coming himself by his wife's sickness, (I believe by fear of 
the French), but that the M^ampum of that nation was lodged 
M'ith Knstalogo, on.e of their chiefs, at Yenango. 

In the evening, late, they came again and acquainted me that 
tlie Shannoahs were not yet an-ived, but that it should not retard 
the i^rosecution of our journey. He delivered in my hearing 
the s]ieech that Avas to be made to the French by Jeskakake, one 
of their old chiefs, which Mas giving up the belt the late com- 
:mMndant had asked fm* and repeating nearly the same speech he 
himself had done before. 

He also delivered a string of wampum to this chief, which was 

20 No namo figures more extensively in our border liistorv tliau the Sieur do 
. Joncairc, father and son, of •whom, however, comparatively little is known. The 
.former had been a jMisoner in the hands of the Seneeas, and adopted by them 
as early as 1700, aud in that year they asked that he should ,c;o to their eantou 
to arrange terms of peace, which he did with success. In all subsequent trans- 
actions with the Iroquois he plays a conspicuous part, his Indian naturaliza- 
tion making it impo.ssible for the Englisli autliorities to obtain his expulsion. 
Oharlevoix, lli»t. Noutellc Frnnce, ii., 244-oG."). He was apparently the first 
European who examined the oil springs recently rendered so profitable. His 
son. the Joncaire of this diary, continued his father's influence among the Sen- 
ecas till Shirley, then at Oswego, in 1755, induced them to order him to depart. 
— i^mith's JSew York (ed. 1830), i., 275. 



Arrival at VeiuDigo. li) 

sent by King Shingiss, to be given to Knstalogo, with orders to 
repair to the French and deliver up the wani^^um. 

He likewise gave a very large string of black and white wanj- 
pum, which was to be sent up immediately to the Six Nations if 
the French refused to quit the land at this warning, which was 
the third and last tiine, and was the right of this Jeskakake to 
deliver. 



NOVEMBER 30. 



Last night the great men assembled at their council-house to 
consult further about this journey and who were to go; the re- 
sult of which was that only three of their chiefs, with one of 
their best hunters, should be our convoy. The reason they ga\-e 
for \wt sending more, after what had been proposed at council 
the 26th, was that a greater number might give the French sus- 
picions of some bad design and cause them to be treated rudely, 
but I rather think they could not get their hunters in. 

AVe set out about nine o'clock, with the Half-King, Jeskakake, 
"White Thunder, and the Hunter, and traveled on the road to 
"Venango, where we arrived the 4tli of December, without any- 
thing remarkable hapi^ening but a continued series of bad 
weather. 

This is an old Indian town, situated at the mouth of French 
Creek, on the Ohio, and lies near north about sixty miles from 
the Logstown, but more than seventy the way we were obliged 
to go. 

We found the French colors hoisted at a house fi-om which 
the}" liaS driven Mr. John Frasier, an English subject. I imme- 
diately repaired to it to know where the commander resided. 
There were three officers, one of wdiom. Captain Joncaii-e, in- 
formed me that h(^ had the command of the (3hio, but that there 
"was a general olhcer at the near fort, where he advised me to ap- 
ply for an answer. He invited us to sup with them and ti'cated 
lis with the greatest complaisance. 

The wine, as they dosed themselves pretty plentifully' with it, 
soon banished the restraint which at first appeared in their con- 
versation and gave a license to their tongues to reveal their sen- 
timents more freely. 

They told me that it was their absolute design to take posses- 
sion of the .Ohio, and by G — they would doit, for that, although 
they were sensible the English could raise two men for their one, 
jet they knew their motions were too slow and dilatory to pre- 
vent any undertaking of theirs. They pretend to have an un- 



20 The French Forts and Garrisons. 

doubted right to the river from a discovery made byonoLaSalle^^ 
sixty years ago, and the rise of this expedition is to prevent oiu" 
settling on tlie river or waters of it, as they heard of some fam- 
ilies moving out in order thereto. From the best intelligence I 
could get, there have been iifteen hundred men on this side On- 
tario Lake, but upon the death of the general all were recalled, 
to about six or seven hundred, who were left to garrison four 
forts, one hundred and fifty or thereabout in each. "The first of 
them is on French Creek," near a small lake, about sixty miles 
from Yenango, near north northwest; the next lies on Lake- 
.Erie,^^ where the greater part of their stores are kept, about fif- 
teen miles from the other; from this it is one hundred and twenty 
miles to the carrying place, at the falls of Lake Erie, where there 
is a small fort,^"* at which they lodge their goods in bringiug- 
them from Montreal, the place from whence all their stores are 
brought. The next fort lies about twenty miles from this, on 
Ontario Lake.^ BeLween this fort and Montreal tliere are three 
others, the first of wdiich^ is nearly opposite to the Englisli fort 
Oswego. From the fort on Lake Erie to Montreal is about six 
hundred miles, which, they say, requires no more (if good 
weather) than four weeks' voyage, if they go in barks or farge- 
vessels, so that they may cross the lake; but if they come in ca- 
noes it will require five or six weeks, for they are obliged to keep 
under the shore. 

DECEMBEK 5. 

Rained excessively all day, which prevented our traveling. Cap- 
tain Joncaire sent for the Half-King, as he had but just heard 
that he came with me. He affected to be much concerned that 
I did not make free to bring them in before. I excused it in the 
best manner of which I was capable, and told him I did not 
think their company agreeable, as I had lieard him say a good 
deal in dispraise of Indians in general; but another motive pre- 
vented me from bringing them into his company; I knew that 

21 La Salle. Robert Cavalier de La Salle, it is known, followed up Ihc dis- 
covery of Marquette and .Joliet, and in 1083 descended the MJFsissippi to its 
mouth, which he reached on the 9th of April. He planted the arms of France 
and took possession of tlie river and all the country watered hy it and its- 
branches. This extended tlie French claim to the head waters of tlie Alleghany 
and Monongahela. See "The Discovery and ^Exploration of the Mississippi,"' 
and narrative there given. Previous to 'this and apparently about 1(370-71, La 
Salle had reached the Ohio from the Seneca country, and "descende(l it to the 
falls at Louisville. No narrative of this voyage is extant, but he claims to have 
done so in some documents, and maps drawn by Joliet recognize his claim, and 
these French officers maintain it. 

22 Fort Le Boeuf 23 Fort Presque Isle. 2-1 Fort Niagara. 

25 Fort Toronto. 26 Fort Frontenac. 



More Delay. 21' 

lie was an interpreter and a person of very great influence ainon<5 
the Indians, and bad lately used all possible means to draw tbeni 
over to his interest; therefore I was desirous of giving him no 
opportunity that could be avoided. 

When they came in there was great pleasure expressed at see- 
ing them. He wondered how they could be so near without 
coming to visit him, made several trifling j) resents, and applied 
liquor so fast that they were soon rendered incapable of the busi- 
ness .they came about, notwithstanding the caution which was 
given -'' 

DECEMBER 6. 

The Half-King came to my tent quite sober and insisted very 
much that I should stay and hear what he had to say to the 
French. I fain would have prevented him from speaking any- 
thing until he came to the commandant, but could not prevail. 
He told me that at this place a council Are M'as kindled, wbere 
all their business with these people was to be transacted, and that 
the management of the Indian affairs was left solely to Mon- 
sieur Joncaire. As I was desirous of knowing the issue of this, 
I agreed to stay; but sent our horses a little way up French 
Creek, to raft over and encamp, which I knew would make it 
near night. 

About ten o'clock they met in council. The King spoke much 
the same as he had before done to the General, and oftered the 
French speech-belt which had before been demanded, with the 
marks of four towns on it, which Monsieur Joncaire refused to- 
receive, but desired him to carry it to the fort to the commander. 

DECEMBEE T. 

Monsieur La Force, Commissary of the French stores, and" 
three other soldiers, came over to accompany us up. We found 
it extremely difhcnlt to get the Indians oft' to-day, as every strat- 
agem had been used to prevent their going up with me. I had 
last night left John Davidson (the Indian interpreter), whom I 
had brought with me from town, and strictly charged him not. to- 

27 Gist, in his journal, here notes: "Our Indians were in council with the- 
Delawares, who lived under the French colors, and ordered tlicm to deliver up- 
to the French the belt with the marks of the four towns, according;; to the desire- 
of King Shingiss. But the chief of these Delawares said: 'It was true, Kiiig^ 
Shingiss was a great man, but he had sent no speech, and,' said he, ' I cannot 
pretend to make a speech for a king.' So our Indians could not prevail with 
them to deliver their belt, but the Half-King did deliver his belt as he had de- 
termined." 



22 Le Gardeiir de St. Pierre. 

be out of their company, as I could not get tliein over to my 
tent; for they had some business withlvustalogo, chie% to know 
"\vhy he did not deliver up the French speech-belt which he had 
in keeping; but I was obliged to send Mr. Gist over to-day to 
fetch them, which he did with great persuasion. 

At twelve o'clock we set out for the fort, and were prevented 
•arriving there until the 11th by excessive rains, snows, and bad 
traveling through many mires and swamps. These we were 
obliged to pass to avoid crossing the creek, which was impassa- 
ble, either by fording or rafting, the water was so high and 
rapid. 

We passed over much good land since we left Venango, and 
througli several extensive and very rich meadows, one of which, 
I believe, was nearly four miles in length and considerably wide 
in some j>hvces. 

DECEMBER 12. 

I prepared early to wait u])on the Commander, and was re- 
<».eived and conducted to him by the second officer in command. 
1 acquainted him with my business and offered him my commis- 
sion and letter, both of which he desired me to keej) until the 
^u-rival of Monsieur lle]")arti, captain at the next fort, who was 
•bent for and expected every hour. 

This Commander is a Knight of the militarj' order of St. 
Louis, and named ]^e Gardeur de St. Pierre.^^ He is an elderly 
.gentleman and has much the air of a soldier. lie was sent over 
to take the command immediately upon the death of the late 
General, and arrived hei-e about seven days before me. 

At two o'clock the gentleman who was sent for arrived, when I 
offered the letter, &c., again, which they received and adjourned 
into a private apai'tment for the Ca])tain to translate, who under- 
stood a little English. After he had done it the Commander de- 
sired I would walk in and bring my interpreter, to peruse and 
■correct it, which I did. 



28 Lc Oardcur dc St. Picrro. TIic fnniily of Lc Gardeur de Ke])('iiligny de- 
scended from PieiTO Lc Gardeur, Sieur dc; Kepentigny, one of tJie eurliesl set- 
tlers near Quebec. Mr. Ferland, in his " Notes on tiie Register ol' (Quebec," jk 
^;i. remarks that meuihers of tliis family and lliat of Cliaries Le Gardeur de 
Tilly took part in every war of New France, from Louisiana to Acadia and 
Nevvlbundland. lie adds, on ])age 57, liiat l)()l]i liave completely disapneiu'cd 
Trom Canada. The ollieer Avho succeeded ]\[arin si^ns in liu' ike_i;isier, Le Gard- 
eur de IJepentiguy, but in the letter to Diinviddie, Lc Gardeur de Si. Pierre, and 
is apparently tiie one known as M. de St. Pierre, who was killetl at IJloody 
Pond. The younger one, styled M. de Kepentigny, Avoukl seem, however, to be 
intended by "the M. Ileparti of Washington's Diary. 



* Description of the Fort, 2S 

DECEMBER 13. 

The chief officers retired to hold a council f»f war, Aviiicli gave 
me an oppoi-tuiiity of taking the dimensions of the fort and 
making what observations I could. 

It is situated on the s<juth or west fork of French Creek, near 
the water, and is almost surrounded by the creek and a small 
branch of it, which form a kind of island. Four houses com- 
pose the sides. The bastions nre made of piles driven into the 
ground, standing more than twelve fe(>t above it, and sharp at 
top, with port-holes cut for cannon, and loop-liole>s for the small 
arms to tire through. There are eight six-pound |)icccs mounted 
in each bastion, and one piece of four pounds buforethe gate. Jn 
tlie bastions are a guard-house, cliapel, doctor's lodging, and tliQ 
Commander's private store, round which are laid platforms for 
the cannon and men to stand on. There are several barracks 
without the fort, for the soldiers' dwellings, covered, some with 
bark and some with boards, made chiefly of logs. There are also 
several other houses, such as stables, smith's shop, ifec. 

I could get no certain account of the number of men here, but 
according to the best judgment 1 could form, there are a hun- 
dred, exclusive of officers, of whom there nre many. I also gave 
orders to the people who were with me to take an exact account 
of the canoes, which were hauled up to convey their forces dowa 
in the spring. This they did, and told iifty of birch bark and a 
hundred and seventy of pine, besides many others which were 
blocked out in readiness for being made. 

DECEMBER 14. 

As the snow increased very fast and our horses daily became 
weaker, I sent tliem oif unloaded, under the care of Barnaby. 
Currin and two others, to make all convenient dispatch to Ve- 
nango and there to wait our arrival if there was a prospect of the 
river's freezing; if not, then to continue down to Shanopin'* 
Town, at the fork of the Ohio, and there to wait mitil we came 
to cross the Alleghany, intending myself to go down by water, as 
I had the oiTer of a canoe or two. 

As I found many plots concerted to retard the Indians' busi- 
ness and prevent their returning with me, I endeavored, all that 
lay in my power, to frustrate their schemes, and hurried them on 
to execute their intended d(!sign. They accordingly pressed for 
admittance this evening, which at length was granted them, pri- 
vately, to the commander and one or two other officei-s. The 
Half-King told me that he offered the wampum to the Com- 
mander, who evaded taking it and made many fair promises of 



^4 French Stratagem to Detain tJie Ind'uins. 

love and friendsliip; said lie wanted to live in ])eace and trade 
.umieably with them, as a i^roof of whieli, lie would send some 
£joods immediately down to the Logstovvn for them. But I rather 
think the design of that is to bring away all our straggling trad- 
•ers they meet with, tis I privately nnderstood they intended to 
carry an officer with them ; and what rather confirms this opin- 
ion, I was inqniring of the Commander by what anthority he 
had made prisoners of several of our English subjects. He told 
■me that the country ])elonged to them; that no Englishman had 
a right to trade upon those waters, and that he had orders to 
make every person prisoner who attempted it on the Ohio or the 
waters of it. 

I inquired of Captain Eeparti about the boy that was carried 
by this place, as it was done while the command devolved on 
him, between the death of the late general and the arrival of the 
present. He acknowledged that a boy had been carried past, and 
that the Indians liad two or three white men's scalps, (I was told 
by some of the Indians at Yenango, eight), but pretended to 
have forgotten the name of the place where the boy came fi-om 
and all the particular facts, though he had questioned him for 
some hours as they were carrying him past. I likewise inquired 
M'hat tliev had done with John Trotter and James M'Clocklan, 
two Pennsylvania traders, whom they had taken with all their 
goods. They told me that they had been sent to Canada, but 
Avere }iow returned home. 

This evening I received an answer to his Honor the Governor's 
letter from the Commandant. 

DECEMBER 15. 

The Commandant ordered a plentiful store of liquor and pro- 
vision to be put on board our canoes, and appeared to be ex- 
tremely complaisant, though he was exerting every art itice which 
lie could invent to set our Indians at variance with us, to prevent 
their going until after our departure — presents, i-ewards and ev- 
crythino: which could be suijgested by him or his officers. I can- 
not say that ever in my life I suffered so much anxiety as I did 
in this affair. I saw that every stratagem which the most fruit- 
ful brain could invent was practiced to Avin the Half-King to 
their interest, and that leaving him there was giving them the 
■op]x>rtunity they aimed at. 1 went to the Half-King and pressed 
liini in the strongest terms to go. He told me that the Com- 
mandant woukl not discharge him until the morning. I then 
went to the Commandant and desired him to do their business, 
and complained of ill treatment ; for keej^ting them, as they were 
part of my company, was detaining me. This he promised not 



Tlic Uetarn Com mencerJ. 2 



w«/ 



to do, hut to'forward my jonrnev as iniidi as ])e coiiW. He pro- 
tested he did not keep them, but Ava^ ignorant of the cause of 
their stay, tliougli I soon found it out. Jlc had promised them 
a jjresent of guns if tliey M'oukl wait until the morning. As I 
was very much pressed by the Indians to wait tliis day for them, 
I consented, on a j^romise that nothing sliould liindcr tliem in the 



morning. 



DECEMBER 16. 



• Tlie French were not shack in tlieii- inventions to keep tlie In- 
dians this day also. But as they were obh'ged, according to 
])romise, to give the present, t'liey then endeavored to try the 
poM'cr of liquor, which I doubt not would have ])i-e\-ailed at any 
other time than this; but 1 urged and insisted with the King so 
closely upon his word that he refrained, and set off with us, as 
he had engaged. 

AVe had a tedious and vciy fatiguing passage down the 'creek. 
■ Several times we had liked to have been staved against rocks, 
^and many times were obliged, all liands, to get out and remain 
in the water half an h(»ur or more, getting over the shoals. At 
•one place the ice had lodged and inade it impassable by water; 
we were therefore obliged to carry our canoe across the neck of 
land, a quarter of a mile over. We did not reach Venango until 
the 22d, where we met with our horses. 

This creek is extremely crooked. I dare say the distance be- 
tween the fort and Yenango cannot be less than one hundred and 
thirty miles, to follow the meanders. 

DECEMBER 23. 

Wlien I c:ot tilings readv to set oft' I sent for the Half-Kinj;, 
to know whether he intended to go with us or by water. He told 
me that White Thunder had hurt liimself much and was sick 
and unable to walk; therefore he was obliged to carry him down 
in a canoe. As I foun<l he intended to stay heic a day or two, 
and knew that Mofisieur Joncaire would employ every scheme to 
set him against the English, as he had before done, I told him I 
]io])ed he woiikl guard against his flattery and let no fine speeches 
innuence hini in their favor. He desired I might not be con- 
cerned, for he knew the Erencli too well for anything to engage 
him in their favor, and that thouiiii he could not wj down with 
ns, lie yet would endeavor to meet at the foi-k Mith Joseph 
■Gampl)eir, to deliver a speech for jnc to carry to his Honor the 
Governor. He told me he would order the Young Hunter to 
^attend us, and get provisions, &c., if wanted. 



Aji Indian Shoots at Washington. 

Our horses were now so weak and feeble, and the baggage so 
heavy (as we were obliged to provide all the necessaries Avhich 
the journey wonkl require), that we doubted mncli their perform- 
ing it. Therefore myself and others, except the drivers, who 
were obliged to ride, gave up onr horses for packs, to assist along 
with the baggage. I put myself in an Indian walking-dress and 
continued with them three days, nntil I found there was no 
jjrobability of their getting home in any reasonable time. The 
horses became less able to travel every day, the cold increased 
very fast, and the roads were becoming much worse by a dec]t 
snow, continually freezing; therefore, as I was uneasy to get 
back, to make report of my proceedings to his Honor the Gov- 
ernor, I determined to prosecute my journey the nearest way 
through the woods on foot. 

Accordingly 1 left Mr. Van Braam in charge of our baggage, 
with money and directions to provide necessaries from place to 
place for themselves and horses, and to make the most convenient 
dispatch in traveling. 

DECEMBER 26. 

I took my necessary papers, pulled oif my clothes, and tied 
myself up in a watch-coat. Then, with gun in hand and pack 
on my back, in which were my pa])ers and provisions, I set out 
with Mr. Gist, htted in the same manner, on Wednesday, the 
26th.^^ The day following, just after we had passed a place called 
Murdering Town (where we intended to quit the path and steer 



29 Gist opposed Washington's attempting tliis journey on foot, and liis jour- 
nal here being more full and explicit as to liis (Washington's) sufferings than 
his own diary, an extract will not be uninteresting: " I Avas unwilling he should 
undertake such a travel, who Lad never been used to walking before thia time. 
But as he insisted on it, we set out with our packs, like Indians, and traveled 
eigliteeu miles. That night we lodged at an Indian cabin, and the ]\Iajor waa 
much fatigued. It was very cold. All the small runs were frozen, so that we 
could hardly get water to drink, 

" Thursday, 27th. — We rose early in the morning and set out about two o'clock. 
Got to Murdering Town, on the southeast fork of Beaver Creek. Here we met 
with an Indian, whom I tliought I liad seen at Joncaire's; at Venango, when on 
our journey up to the French fort. TJiis iellow called me bj' my Indian name, 
and pretenlled to be glad to see me. lie asked us several questions, as how we 
came to travel on foot, when we left Venango, where we parted with our horses, 
and when they would be there. Major Washington insisted o]i traveling the 
nearest way to the forks of the Alleghany. We "asked the Indian if lie could 
go wdth us and show us the nearest way. The Indian seemed very glad and 
ready to go with us. Upon which we set out, and ilie Indian took the Major's 
pack. We traveled very briskly for eight or ten miles, wlien the "Major's feet 
grew sore and he very weary; and the Indian steered too much northeastwardly. 

"The Major desired to encamp, on which the Indian asked to carry his gun. 
But he refused that, and then the Indian grew churlish and pressed us to keep 
on, telling us that there were Ottawa Indians in these woods, and that they 



Oil a Baft. 27 

across the country for Snaiuiopin's Town), we fell in with a party 
of French Indians, who had hdn in wait for us. One of them 
lired at Mr. Gist or nie, not fifteen steps off, but fortunately 
missed. We took this fellow into citstody and kept him till about 
nine o'clock at night, then let him go, and walked all the remain- 
ing part of the night without making an}" stop, that we might 
get the start so far as to be out of the reach of their jjursuit the 
next day, since we were well assured they would follow our track 
as soon as it was light. The next day we continued traveling 
until quite dark, and got to the river about two mile« above Slian- 
nopin's. We expected to have found the river frozen, but it was 
not, only about hfty yards from each shore. The ice, I suppose, 
had broken up above, for it was driving in vast qiiantities. 

There was no way for getting over bnt on a raft, Mdiich we 
set about with but one poor hatchet, and finished just after sun- 
setting. This was a whole day's work; we next got it launched^ 
then went on board of it and set off; but before we were half 
way over we were jammed in the ice in such manner that we 
expected every moment our raft to sink and ourselves to perish. 
I })ut out my setting-pole to try to stop the raft, that the ice 
might pass by, when the rapidity of the stream threw it with so 
much violence against the pole that it jerked me out into ten feet 
water; but I fortnnately saved myself by catching hold of one 
of the raft-logs. Notwithstanding all our efforts, we could not 
get to either shore, but were obliged, as we were near an island^ 
to quit our raft and make to it. 

would scalp us if we lay out; but to go to his cabiu and we should be sale. I 
thought very ill of the fellow, but did not care to let the Major know I mis- 
trusted him. But soon he niistrusted him as much as T. He said he could 
hear a gun to his cabin and steered us more northwardly. We grew uneasy ; 
and then he said that two whoops might be heard to his cabin. We went twa 
miles further. Then the Major said he would stay at tlie next water, and we 
desired the Indian to stop at the next water. But before we came to water we 
came to a clear meadow. It was very light and there was snow on the ground. 
The Indian made a stop and turned about. The Major saw him i3oint his gun 
toward us and fire. Said the Major, are j'ou shotV 'No,' said I. Upon this- 
the Indian ran forward to a big standing white oak and went to loading his 
gun; but we were soon with him. I would have killed him, but the JVIajor 
would not suffer me to kill him. 

" We let him charge his gun. We found he put in a ball. Then we took 
care of him. The Major or I always stood by the guns. We made the Indian 
make a fire for us by a little run, as if we intended to sleep there. I said to the 
Major, 'As you will not have him killed, we must get liim away, and then we 
must travel all night.' Upon^this I said to the Indian, ' I suppose you were 
lost and fired your gunJ He said he knew the way to his cabin, and that it 
was but a little way. ' Well,' said I, 'do you go home, and as we are much 
tired, we will follow your track in the morning; and here is a cake of bread 
for you, and you must give us meat in the morning.' He was glad to get away. 
I followed liim and listened until he was fairly out of the way. Then we set 
out about half a mile, when we made a fire, set our. compass and fixed our 
courso, and traveled all night. In the morning we were at the head of Piney 
Creek." 



28 Home at Last. 

The cold was so extremely severe that Mr. Gist had all his 
fingers and some of his toes frozen ; and the water was shut up 
so hard that we fomid no difficulty in getting off the island on 
the ice in the morning, and went to Mr. Frazier's. "We met here 
with twenty warriors, who were going to the southward to war, 
but coming to a place on the head of the Great Kenhawa,- where 
they found seven people killed and scalped, (all but one woman 
with very light hair), they tnrned about and ran back, for fear 
the inhabitants should rise and take them as the authors of the 
murder. They report that the bodies were lying about the house, 
and some of them much torn and eaten by the hogs. By the 
marks which were left, they say they were French Indians of the 
Ottawa nation who did it. 

As we intended to take horses here, and it reipiired some time 
to iiiid them, I went up about three miles to the mouth of You- 
ghiogany, to visit Queen Aliquippa, who had expressed great 
concern that we passed her in going to the fort. I made her a 
present of a watch-coat and a bottle of rum, which latter was 
ihought much the better present of the two. 

TUESDAY, THE FIRST OF JANUARY. 

"We left Mr. Frazier's house and arrived at Mr. Gist's, at Mo- 
nongahela,^" the 2d, where I bought a horse and saddle. The 
6th, we met seventeen horses, loaded with materials and stores 
for a fort at the fork of the Ohio, and the day after, some fami- 
lies ii-oino- out to settle. This day we arrived at Will's Creek, af- 
ter as latigumg a journey as it is possible to conceive, rendered 
so by excessive bad weather. From the 1st day of December to 
the 15th, there was but one day on which it did not. rain or snow 
incessantly; and throughout the whole journey we met with 
nothing but one continued series of cold, wet weather, wdiich oc- 
casioned very uncomfortable lodgings, especially after we had 
quitted our tent, wliich was some screen from the inclemency 
of it. 

On the llth I got to Belvoir, wdiere I stopped one day to take 
necessary rest, and then set out and arrived in Williamsburg the 
16th, when I waited upon his Honor the Governor with the let- 
ter I had brought from the French commandant, and to give an 
account of the success of my proceedings. This I beg leave to 
do by oifering the foregoing narrative, as it contains the most 
remarkable occurrences which happened in my journey. 

30 Monongahela,said to be from the Shawnee Mehmonawangchehik, Falling 
in-ba. '- River. Alleghauy, the name of the other branch of the Ohio, is Iro 
quois, 'I signifies "cold water." 



Governor Dhiwiddi&'s Letter. 29 

I liope what has been said will be sufficient to make your 
Honor satisfied with my conduct, for that was my aim in under- 
taking the journey, and chief studv throughout the prosecution 
of it. 

Letter of Goveenok Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to the French 

Commandant on the Ohio. 

Sir: — The lands upon the River Ohio, in the western parts of 
the Colony of Yirginia, are so notoriously known to be the prop- 
erty of the crown of Great Bi-itain that it is a matter of equal 
concern and surprise to me to hear that a body of French forces 
are erecting fortresses and making settlements upon that river 
within his Majesty's dominions. The many and repeated com- 
plaints I have received of these acts of hostility lay me under 
the necessity of sending, in the name of the king, my master, 
the bearer hereof, George Washington, Esq., (me of the' adju- 
tants-general of the forces of this dominion, to complain to you 
of the encroachments thus made and of the injuries done to'the 
subjects of Great Britain, in violation of the law of nations and 
the treaties now subsisting between the two crowns. If these 
facts be true, and yon think fit to justify your proceedings, I 
must desire you to acquaint me by whose authority and instruc- 
tions you have lately marclied from Canada with an armed force 
and invaded the King of Great Britain's territories in the man- 
ner complained of, that, according to the purpose and resolution 
of your answer, I may act agreeably to the commission I am 
honored with from the king, my master. However, sir, in obe- 
dience to my instructions, it becomes my duty to require your 
peaceable departure, and that you will forbear ])rosecuting a pur- 
pose so interruptive of the harmony and good understanding 
which his majesty is desirous to continue and cultivate with the 
most Christian king, &c. 

Robert Dinwiddie. 

Reply of Le Gardeur de St. Pierre de Repentigny, Commander 
OF the French Forces on the Ohio, to Governor Dinwiddie, 
OF Virginia. 

Sir: — As I have the honor of commanding here in chiet^ Mr. 
Washington delivered to me the letter which 3^011 wrote to the 
commander of the French troops. I should have l)een glad that 
you had given him orders, or that he had been inclined, to pro- 
ceed to Canada to see our general, to whom it better belongs than 
to me to set forth the evidence and the reality of the rights of 
the king, my master, to the lands situated along the River Ohio, 



30 Replij of the French General. 

and to contest the pretensions of tlie kino; of Great Britain 
thereto. I shall transmit your letter to the Sarquis Du Qiiesne. 
His answer will be a law to me. And if he shall order me to 
commnnicate it to yon, sir, you may be assured I shall not fail to 
dispatch it forthw^ith to you. As to the summons you send me 
to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey it. Whatever 
may be your instructions, I am here by virtue of the orders of 
my general, and I intreat you, sir, not to doubt one moment but 
that I am determined to conform myself to them with all the 
exactness and resolution which can be expected from the best 
officer. I do not know that in the progress of this campaign, 
anything has passed w^hich can be reputed an act of hostility, or 
that is contrary to the treaties which subsist between the two 
crowns, tlie continuatit)n whereof as much interesteth and is as 
pleasiug to us as to the English. Had you been pleased, sir, tc 
have descended to particularize tlie facts which occasioned youi 
complaint, I should have had the honor of answering you in the 
fullest, and, I am persuaded, in the most satisfactory manner, &c. 

Le Gakdeuk de St. Pierre. 

From the fort sur la Rivi&re au Boeuf, 
December 15, 1753. 



IN DEX. 



PAGE. 

Abercromble, Gen 92 

Appointed to Command the English 

Forces in America 9fi 

Defeated belbre Fort Ticonderoga 9? 

Acadia ,87 

Acadiaus Removed 88 

Aloiiez * 23 

American Fur Co 337, 418 

Its Branch at Chicago 339 

American Names, Grammar of 474 

Amherst, Maj . Gen 96 

Appointed to the Command of the English 

Forces in America 102 

Bad Axe, Battle of. 399 

Baugis 54 

" Beaujeii 55 

- Beaubieus, The 419 

Blacic Ilawic 297, 374, 375, 377, 380, 390, 402 

Blaclv Partridge .273, 4:iO 

Bloody Run, Battle of 128 

Bouquet, Gen 98 

liifi Expedition to the Muslcingum 137 

Boscawen, Admiral 96 

Braddock, Gen., Lands in Virginia 85 

Hifc Defeat 87 

Bradstreet, Gen., Takes Fort Frontenac. .. 98 

Relieves Detroit 135 

Brock, ( Ten . Isaac 267 

Backougahelas 164 

Bushy Run, Battle of im 

■Cahokia Settled 74 

Caldwell, Billy 322 

Campbell, Maj 124 

Campus Martins 198 

Canada, Its l.,imits E.T:tended 160 

Captives, Rendition of 139 

Carpenter, Philo, his Arrival at Chicago.. 404 

CsLBS, Gen. Lewis 267 

Cavelier .'56, 60, 63, 65 

Cession of the Northwest to the U. S 188 

Champlaiii, Samuel ]) 21 

Chicago, Adjacent Settlements to 369 

Chartered as a Village 408 

Charrered as a City 436 

Desc.rj ptiou of in IKV, 405 

Description of in 1SJ4 = 431 

Early Voting at 367 

Enlargement by Wards 4:17 

French Fort built at 66 

Harbor Improvement of. 478 

Hut built at 228 



PAGE. 

Missionary Station at 67 

Names of its First Tax Payers 364 

Name ilrst on Scliool Atlases 3.50 

Pioneer Citizens of :}68 

Seal of 4 54 

Surveyed and Platted 357 

Convention of 1860 at 451 

Chicago Fire 458 

Chicago, the Indian Chief 1.58 

Childs, E., his Narrative of 1821 348 

Cholera, (The) at Chicago 389 

Clark, John K 400 

Clark's Conquest of Vincennes 167 

Cleavelaud, Moses 225 

Cleveland Settled 227 

Cly bourn, Archibald '. 2:57 

Arrives at Chicago 355 

Clybouni Family 237 

Clybourn, Mrs. Archibald, her Reminis- 
cences 3.56 

Continental Congi-ess 1G:J 

Convention at Albany 77 

Convention of 1860 451 

Corbin, Mrs., her death 279 

Courts Established in the Northwest 19;J 

Crawford's Expedition to Sandusky 181 

His Death by Fire 18:J 

Cresap 161 

Croghan, George 144 

Starts for the Illinois Country 145 

Ilis Journal 151J 

Crown Point 77 

Dalzell, Capt 127 

Decrees of Berlin 252 

Repealed 235 

Denonville 54 

Detroit 68 

Settled 71 

Attacked by the Foxes 73 

Besieged by Pontiac 121 

Hull's Surrender at ' 268 

Dixon's Ferry :J70 

Dieskau, Baron, Marches against Johnson.. 88 

Is Defeated 90 

Dinwiddle, Gov 79, 84 

Dulhut 44 

Duhant Shoots La Salle 59 

His Death 62 

Dunmore, Lord 161 

Earthquake of 1811 250 

Elliot, George 1«2 



11 



Indeoo. 



PAGE. 

Embargo Act 253 

English ou the Upper Lakes 70 

English Posts on the Maumee Captured. . . 78 

English Colonics *. 76 

England Declares War Against France 93 

English Evacuaie Western Posts 224 

English' Orders 253 

Engagec, the 240, 338 

Factory System 344 

Five Nations 21 

France Declares War Against England. . 93 

• Fort Apple River 395 

/ Fort Catarauqui 36 

Fort Creve-Cieur 44 

Despoiled 47 

V Fort Chartres 74, 143 

V Fort Beggs 385 

y Fort Dearborn, Commissioners Sent to 

^ Locate It 2.32 

Built f 233 

Evacuated 275 

Re-built 329 

Offlclai Record of 441 

Last Relics of 443 

Fort Duquosuo 85 

Fort Greenville 212 

Treaty at in 1795 218 

,^ Fort Hamilton 199 

sj Fort Harrison 290 

ry Fort Jefterson 199 

Fort Knox- 198 

^ Fort Le Bceuf 79 

Fort Laurens 177 

■^ Fort Madison 250 

^ Fort Meigs Built on the Maumee 308 

Besieged by the British 309 

English Retreat from 311 

^ Fort Mcintosh 176 

Fort Miamis 47 

Fort Necessity, Siege of 83 

Fort Niagara taken by the English 103 

- Fort Payne 386 

Fort Pitt 130 

Relieved by Gen. Bouquet 133 

v Fort Presque Isle 79 

Fort Steuben 198 

Fort Stephenson 313 

Fort St. Louis 53 

-''Fort Washington 191 

Fort Wayne Built 218 

\j Besieged 290 

Relieved 293 

Fort William Henry, Slaughter at 95 

Franklin, Beuj 86 

His Controversy with Gov. Denny 82 

Anecdote of 200 

For'^^s, Gen 96 

TaV<;-s Fort DuQuesne 101 



PAGE. 

Foxes, The 72 

Frontenac 35 

Restored to the Governorship of Canada 70 

Gage, Gen., at Braddock's, Defeat 87 

Gallo wy, James 352 

Gates, Capt., at Braddock's Defeat 86 

Genet, Minister from the French Republic. 210 

Girty, Simon 163 

Gist, Clrrietopher 78 

Gladwin, Gen 120 

Grammar of American Names 474 

Grant, Maj 100- 

Griffin, The, Sails up the Lakes 38 

Greenville, Treaty at, in 1795 218 

Second Treaty at 325 

Ghent, Negotiations at 32.3' 

Hall, Benjamin 237 

Hali, Dayid 2.37 

Half King 79' 

Harrison, Wm. Henry, appointed Governor 

of Indiana Territory 2.30' 

Holds Council with Tecuraseh 246' 

Fights the Battle of Tippecanoe 248 

Appointed to the Command of the North- 
western Army 304 

Defends Fort Meigs 309 

Invades Canada 318 

Fights the Battle of the Thames 319 

Heald, Capt •i.iXt 

Evacuates Fort Dearborn 274 

Heckwelder, John 175 

Helm, Lieut., Wounded at Chicago Mas- 
sacre 285 

Helm, Mrs., Saved by Black Partridge 276 

Hennepin Sent to Upper Mississippi 40 

In Captivity 41 

Returns to Canada 44 

Henry, Alexander 122 

Hiens 62 

Holt, Mrs., at the Chicago Massacre 279 

Hopkins, Gen., his Expedition to Illinois. 294 
Hubbard, Gurdou S., arrives at Chicago. . . 340 

Hudson Bay Co., The 336 

Hudson River Explored 21 

Huron Lake Discovered. . . 21 

Hull, Gen 257 

Reaches Detroit 259 

Surrenders Detroit 268- 

Iberville enters the Mississippi 66 

Illinois Tribes first Mentioned 23 

Their Principal Tillages 27 

Illinois Territory Organized 249 

Illinois, State ol'. Admitted into the Uniou. 332 

Illinois and Michigan Canal Located 363 

Indian Creek, Massacre at 383 

Indian Houses 342 

Indian Names, their Origin and Derivation. 475 
Indiana Territory Organized 230 



Index. 



Ill 



PAGE. 

Its Census in 1810 244 

Iroquoig, The TO 

Jay, John, his Mission to England 217 

His Treaty of 1794 252 

Johnson, Gen 85 

Defeats the French at the Head of Lake 

George 90 

Takes Fort Niagara 103 

Joliet 24 

With Marquette at Chicago in 1673 28 

Joutel : 55 

Kaskaslvia Settled 74 

Kellogg's Grove, Battle of 396 

Kiuzie, James 238 

K'.uzie, John, his first Marriage 2;56 

His second Marriage 237 

His arrival at Chicago 238 

Sent as War Prisoner with his Family to 

Detroit 284 

Returns to Chicago 330 

His Death 366 

Kinzie, John H 261 

Kinzics, The 420 

La Barre 5:5 

La Mai at Chicago 228 

Latrobe, Charles G., his Description of 

Indian Treaty at Chicago 411 

La Salle Builds a Fort at Niagara 37 

Reaches the St. Joseph 38 

Builds Fort Creevc Creur on the Illinois. 39 

Returns to Canada 44 

Reaches the mouth of the Mississippi. . . 51 

Reaches Texas 55 

Is Assassinated ; 59 

His Death Revenged 62 

Lead Trade 141 

Leaden Plates Buried 77 

Lee's Place, Massacre at 262 

Little Turtle 197 

Defeats St. Clair 200 

His Defeat 214 

At Philadelphia 22:3 

His Death 234 

Louisa St. Clair 198 

Logan 161 

His Speech 162 

Logstown 77 

Loudon, Lord 91 

Louisburgh Destroyed 96 

Louisiana .51 

Purchased by the United States 2:31 

Loramies' Store . 77 

Marietta Settled 187 

Maniuctte Discovers the Mississippi 24 

Winters at Chicago 29 

Starts for Canada , 30 

Dies ou the Way 30 

Hie Remains Repioved to St. Iguace.... 30 



TAGE. 

Supposed Recovery of his Bones 34 

His Journal 31 

Maumee, English Post on 77 

Maumee Rapids, English Fort Built at 212 

Maumee Rapids occupied the Americans. . 305 

McKee, David 371 

McKiuzie, Elizabeth 235 

McKinzie, ]\hirgaret ... 2:35 

Michilimackiuac Settled. . , 73 

Massacre at 122 

Taken by the English 260 

Mississippi Kiver, First Tidings of 22 

Discovered 24 

Moncktou, Gun 85 

Invades Acadia 87 

Montcalm, Geu., takes Command of the 

French Forces m America 92 

Takes Oswego 9:i 

Takes Fort William Henry 94 

Death of luS 

Moravian Missions 175 

New Orleans t '. 1,41 

Naperville :384 

New France, its Limits 76 

Newspaper, the first at Chicago 421 

Murray, Robt. N 401 

Nika 44 

HisDeath 58 

Northern Illinois, its cession by the In- 
dians 415 

Ohio Company 78 

Ohio River, Americans Commence a Fort 

at 82 

Oliver, Capt. William, takes a Message to 

FortMeigs 310 

OjibwaGirl 120 

Ouilmette 2:39 

Peace Council with Little Turtle 201 

Peace with England 184 

Payne, Rev. Adam 392 

His Death 39:1 

Pecatonica, Battle of :397 

Perry's Victory 216 

Peoria as a French Village 250 

Attacked by Americans 296 

Pel rot, Nicholas 2:5 

Pictured Rocks 25 

Pitt, Appointed Premier of England 94 

Point Pleasant, Battle of 161 

Pontiac 112 

His Conspiracy 118 

HisStrategemto take the Fort at Detroit. 120 

His Victory over Capt. DalzcH 128 

Makes iPeace l.")7 

Is Assassinated 158 

Post Christian Frederic 99 

Post Office at Chicago 445 

Pottowattomies 261 



IV 



Index. 



PAGE. 

Removed from Chicago 416 

Prairie (In Chien 293 

Taken by tlic British 321 

Prkieaux, Gen., Attacks Fort Niagara 103 

Proctor, Gen '~H5 

Prophet, (The) of TeciniifJeh 243 

His Indiscretion 247 

Quebec Settled 20 

Taken hy the Eiiglii^h 108 

Red Jacket, his Speech 326 

Keynolds, Gov. of Illinois, his experience 

ae a Soldier 294 

Right, of Search 253 

River Raisiu, Battle of SOti 

Robinson, Alexander 28o 

Reminiscences of him 425 

Rogers. Maj. Robert, his ^Mission Ill 

Takes possessicm of Detroit 115 

Ronan Ensign at the Chicago Massacre ... 277 

Russell, Col. J. B. F 416 

Sacs and Foxes 378 

Sau-ga-nash, (The) saves Prisoners at the 

Chicago Massacre 283 

Scott, Gen. Wintield, ordered to Chicago.. 387 

Encamps on the DesPlaines 401 

Scott, Col., his Expedition to the Wabash. 196 

Schenectady Burned 70 

Shabonee 360, 427 

Shelby, Gov., joins Harrison 317 

Shirley, Gen 85 

Marches against Kiagara 89 

Shingip .:... 132 

Sioux, The 22 

Slaves iu Illinois 141 

Snow, Geo. W., his arrival at Chicago... .404 

St. Ango 157 

St. Anthony's Falls 43 

StarvedEock 53 

St. Clair appointed Governor of the Xorth- 
west Territory 190 

Invades the Indian Country 193 

Is Defeated by Little Turtle 300 

Steam-boat, first on Western Waters 250 

Steam Engine, the first made 410 

Sterling, Capt., takes English possession 

of Fort. Chnrtres 153 

St. Ildefonso, Treaty of 142 

Stillman'e Defeat 382 

St. Lawrence River Explored 20 

St. Joseph River 38 

St. Joseph taken by Volunteers from the 
French Settlements of Illinois 166 

Taken by the Spanish from St. Louis 173 

Indian Council at 244 

St Louis Settled 142 

Attacked by the Knglish and Indians. .. 174 
St. Marie, Falls of, Reached 31 

Tills Volume contains 568 pages 



Spanish Intrigues 

Stobo, :>ra,i. Robert 83, 

St. Vrain, Death of 

Surveys, Public 

Swearingtou, James S .'. 

Superior Lake Reached • 

Taylor, Capt. Zachary defends Port Har- 
rison 

Tecuniseh nttempts to form an Indian 
Confederacy ,. 

Visits Harrison at Vinceunes 

Death of 

Ticonderoga blown up 

Tippecanoe, Battle of 

Thames, Bittle of 

Tonty 38, .5'.), 5 J, 

Treaty of 1816 at Chicago 

'I^eaty of 18:M at Chicago 

Valedictory 

Van Brauni, Jacob 

Vessel, First ou the Lakes 

Vigo, Francis 

Vincennes . . 

Settled 

Volney, his interview with Little Turtle. .. 
War Declared against England by the 

United States 

Washington, Maj. at Braddock's Defeat.. 

Receives grant of land ou the Ohio 

His Mission to the Ohio 

His Dinry on a Tour to the Ohio in 1753, 

Pages 1 to 30 at the end of the book. 
Wayne, Gen. Anthony, appointed to Com- 
mand the Western Troops 

Marches against the Indians 

His Victory 

Weld, Isaac, his statement 

Wells, Capt. Wm. Wayue, comes to the 
Rescue of Fort Dearborn 

His Death 

Western Reserve Ceded 

Whistler, Capt. John 

Whi.stlor, .Maj. Wm 

Whistler, Mrs. Wm 

White Cloud, the Prophet 

Wnite Eyes 

Wilkinsons' Expedition 

Winamac 

Winnebago Scare 

Winslow, John 

Wiunebagoes, The 

Williams, Eli B., his arriva; at Chicago... 

Wisconsin Heights, Battle of 

AVolfe, Gen 

B';fore Quebec 

V ctory on the Heights of Abraham . . . . 
Woi\e Point 

\cluding illustrations. 



OE. 

198 
105 
393 
189 
23:i 
21 

291 

243 
245 
330 

104 

248 

319 

04 

345 

411 

485 

8:i 

37 

170 

66 

74 

223 

256 



79 



201 
312 
214 
315 

273 
379 
343 

33;^ 

388 
239 
379 
164 
196 
314 
358 

87 
373 
409 
398 

96 
104 
108 
434 



4 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 571 611 1 



:.; '!'i;;: 



1 1)1 1,., 
. 1 1 >' 






i. 



i. 



r • • -'" '''■■■'' '■ :"'"'i;'"' 

'■ ■1 '"I }'■' ■ ', ■•t\' •••!'; .. .(.,1.1 

v;i.''i'^'ti.,;,,'M'ii;v;";:';:, :■:■;'':: 

. ' :: ■\„.i:,.'Ii'V(ii.','V';:: 






■' ; 'i; '"I I ) ; ' ■■*■ 

■ V :;'.'.',■ -^'.'V' '••' 'V; "■" ;« 



't' 



-■■^ ■•■:■;;;; 'is, ;;■■:.:: ^^ :;;::. ,,:T,!:;,rj 

I'l.v:'^: •..,'■ .■v^^:l;';: '•■^^y^ 
vl!i^;;•;^;;•;:^:|^Vi.:;;b'•#':■'•'■:• 

i'l I'M :'' 1 , I i II,' ■: ■'.•.('/•- ■• ■ ■ 



i:;-^^v,,;:Vf^,:;;i;,|i';:,;:.!:oM'::.';:'i|;[:y 

•'ril,l I , SI' 1 ■' " I'l' *,' " • .' ' ''■ 

'*'; I M-''>V--iHv;^M::'i'!.ir' ,.,':; 



;(;:.;'.-i' '.j;:;f.; 



■ !"''ili-i> M^H..) -'" 'i''V,' '' : ii^j'v' <" 1 
" ., iM.'i ...^ I •■ ■ .' .',).• I, ''i'l'' •; w' ■ 

'i'.-l tVi V'jt".'"' -i '.'pV . ''.'.V,'*'' I'l-.Tli 



